Students on the campus of East and West School in Neura village. Telegraph picture

Patna, Dec. 19: Modern education was a distant dream for residents of Neura, a village in Bihta block, 30km from Patna, till East and West School came up in the area in 2000.

Vinay K. Kantha, chairman of East and West Education Society, set up the English-medium school with all modern facilities to provide education to the children of the area, which is dominated by Musahars, a Mahadalit community.

The school provides education to children of neighbouring areas too. It follows the CBSE curriculum that helps students achieve academic excellence. “The main vision behind setting up the school was to provide quality education while keeping in mind the Indian value system.

Apart from basic education, children are also taught skills like gardening, carpentry, yoga, art and craft, theatre etc. so that they stay connected to their culture. ”Our main focus is to provide an eco-friendly education to all,” said Kantha. The East and West Education Society and Voluntary Forum for Education, a civil society, work to provide quality elementary education to all children.

The school, built on four acres, has a science laboratory, computer room, library and yoga room. The school, which is an amalgamation of modern education and traditional values, has students coming from around 10 to 15 villages. Most of the students come from economically weaker families. At present, the school has 650 students out of which 25 per cent come from Dalit families and 350 are girls.

Students from Dalit families are given free education, food, clothes and bags. The rest of the students have to pay Rs 350 per month. The school also has hostel facility for students who come from economically weaker sections or remote areas.

Vasundhara Kumari, a Class VII student, said: “We enjoy studying here because apart from basic education we are also given important information about our environment. We are taught the benefits and advantages of trees in the nature and now we can easily recognise different plants and understand their usage.”

Ratish Kumar, school’s principal, said: “Learning becomes easy when children are exposed to the environment in which they live. We believechildren’s overall development is more important than just bookish knowledge. You can say this school is more like a gurukul where students are taught about the Indian culture and values.”

Dhanmanti Devi, a resident of Musahar Toli and whose two daughters study at the school free of cost, said: “Not even in my wildest dreams I could imagine that my daughters would go to school. It is dream come true that they are getting this kind of education.” She added: “Although I am illiterate, I want my daughters to get educated so that they can lead a good life, have a good job and get married to an educated boy and lead a happy life.”

About Kantha, she said: “He is a god to us. He has done so much for us and we will be grateful to him forever.”

Kantha’s dream is to see that each child gets basic education. “Education for girls is the main focus. We believe that if a girl is educated the society will automatically develop and help in the overall development of the nation,” he said. Kantha, who used to teach mathematics at Patna University before joining the Indian Railway Services, resigned from his job in 1978 to work for first generation learners in the rural areas.