After 74 years of neglect, efforts are finally on to revive Bihar Vidyapeeth that was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, and is one of the country's three oldest Vidyapeeths.

Last year, the state government took a decision to start various vocational courses, including electric fitting, construction supervision, hotel management and nursing training, last year with the help of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). This year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Bihar Vidyapeeth and NIOS.

Steps have now been initiated to start bachelor of education (BEd) and diploma courses in elementary education at the institute. Vidyapeeth chairperson and IAS officer Vijoy Prakash said the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) carried out an inspection on Sunday.

Prakash said teacher training programmes could only be started after getting NCTE's approval nod. "A separate building (G+3 structure) has been constructed for the courses at an estimated expenditure of Rs 3 crore," he said. "Posts for 15 teachers and a principal have also been created. An advertisement to fill up the vacancies has been issued."

He said renovation works on the original Vidyapeeth building was being carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 4 lakh. As per the plan, few classes of the BEd programme will be conducted in the Vidyapeeth's original building.

"The Vidyapeeth's history is very interesting. Gandhi ji had raised Rs 60,000 from donations to start the institute. There were two women who came forward to help him. They sold their jewellery and donated around Rs 2,000. Noted scholar Maulana Mazharul Haque and lawyer Braj Kishore Prasad (Rajendra Prasad's father-in-law) were the Vidyapeeth's chancellor and vice-chancellor respectively."

According to Vidyapeeth records, former president Rajendra Prasad was the institute's first principal. Jayaprakash Narayan was among one of its students as well. The Vidyapeeth is non-functional since 1942. The British seized the institute after Gandhi ji started the Quit India movement. Its campus was under the British government's possession from 1942-46. The institute couldn't be revived as the founding members, including Rajendra Prasad, got engaged with their new responsibilities. Prasad had no time for the institute after becoming India's president but made it a point to stay in the Vidyapeeth campus after his tenure was over.

Plans are on to renovate the Rajendra Smriti Sanghralaya (where Prasad used to live with his wife Rajavanshi Devi) as well. "We are also trying to develop the campus as a tourist destination. The 100th anniversary of Gandhi's first visit to the state is on April 10, 1917," said Prakash. "We are going to submit a proposal to the tourism department to create a tower of freedom, which will have pictorial representations of Bihar's contribution in the nation's freedom struggle. Besides, we will seek permission to create statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Mazharul Haque."