EDUCATION CENTRAL
KENDRIYA VIDYALAYAS | ESTABLISHED IN 1963
FROM THE FAR CORNERS
The scheme for establishing central schools was approved by the Union government in 1962 and soon 20 regimental schools under the ministry of defence were taken over and converted in 1963. Later, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), an autonomous body registered as a society, was set up by the ministry of education in December 1965. The autonomous body issues directives on both academic and administrative matters for running the Kendriya Vidyalayas.
The schools were initially meant for children of army personnel posted in ‘hardship’ areas. But they soon began catering to children of paramilitary personnel and, indeed, all central government employees. Kendriya Vidyalayas were then extended to public sector undertaking (PSU) townships as well. The idea behind all the schools under the KVS following the same curriculum, similar classroom structures and the same academic calendar was to ensure that in case the parent was transferred even in the middle of an academic session, the ‘discontinuity’ for the child when he or she joined the new school would be minimal. The schools have produced a steady stream of civil servants and army officers, perhaps the single largest number from one group of schools. They are marked by national integration, anti-elitism and the absence of discrimination.
THE WAY FORWARD
Today, there are about 1,150 Kendriya Vidyalayas in the country and three schools abroad in which over 1.2 million students are enrolled. Newer schools, though, are being opened more in the hinterland than in urban centres. Microsoft has signed an MoU with KVS for ‘Project Shiksha’ with the intention of equipping teachers and principals with the latest computer skills.
—Rahul Noronha