Garudachal Vidyapeeth Ampati- Bringing the light of education to tribal population of Meghalaya

Although Vidya Bharati Schools can be found in main cities across India, the majority of the schools are located in remote locations and hard to reach areas where conventional educational institutions have not managed to reach. One such school is Garudachal Vidyapeeth Ampati.

Located in the wind swept areas of Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Garudachal Vidyapeeth have been providing education to the children of the local tribal population since 2004.

In the beautiful but inhospitable environment, the school went through varied struggles since its inception. It started with mere 30 students in a tin building on the slopes of the hill. Due to the strong winds in the area the building often collapsed and had to be rebuilt. It was only recently in 2016 that the school with help from local donations and Governmental aid, was relocated to a better area and a semi pucca building consisting of 6 school rooms was constructed.

Presently the school has 282 students studying from ‘Ankur’ to class 10. The school has 13 teachers and 1 non teaching staff. Apart from providing good quality education, the school encourages the students to participate in sports, science and cultural events. All the major cultural festivities along with days of national importance are celebrated with enthusiasm. Important workshops on varied topics are an innate part of the curriculum.

Recently the school also organized its first alumni meet which was attended by more than 90 alumni.

While speaking about the school, Shri Ratan Roy (principal) explained that the school requires new classrooms to be constructed in order to incorporate growing numbers of students, as well as requiring better drinking water facilities, toilet blocks and computer labs. But no matter the challenges faced, the school has been able to garner the respect and support of the local people. He feels that the school is as tough as the local tribal population who calls the area their home and will continue to grow from strength to strength no matter the hurdles faced.

If you are interested to help in the nation building process and donate for development of VidyaBharati schools, you can email us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org or donate online at: https://www.vidyabharatialumni.org/donation