Vikasa Educational Trust
Holistic development of the child is society's vital concern. Schools must exist to shoulder this responsibility.
Every child has unique capacities of creative impulses, exploring imaginatively and assimilating through experience.
The goal of education, as stated by Bertrand Russell, "should be to provide the soil and freedom required for the growth of this creative impulse; to provide, in other words, a complex and challenging environment that the child can imaginatively explore and, in this way, quicken his intrinsic creative impulse, and so, enrich his life in ways that may be quite varied and unique."
Educational pioneers such as Rabindranath Tagore, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Aurobindo, Gandhi, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Dewey, Montessori and Steiner among many others have shared the same concern.
Their ideas and thoughts provided us with the basic philosophy on which the Vikasa Vidya Vanam School was founded.
Observation of the child in varied surroundings over the past four decades has further deepened our understanding of the developmental aspects of the child.
Our Attempt
Vikasa Vidya Vanam schools strive at providing an environment conducive for holistic development of children, where children -
learn happily without being deprived of the pleasures of childhood,
question freely without fear of censure,
engage in activities without the pressures of reward and punishment,
participate actively in the relevant, age-appropriate and applicative learning process,
find ample opportunity for creative expression,
live to be world citizens, without prejudices,
enjoy simple cooperative living in harmony with nature,
train themselves to be self-reliant and realize the value in dignity of labor,
appreciate democratic values in living, and
value natural resources and models of sustainable living.
Vikasa Vidya Vanam school was established in Vijayawada in 1983 by the Vikasa Educational Trust. Vikasa Educational Trust is a Non-Profit Organization run on Donations.
Vikasa Educational Trust is a non-profit organization established in December 1982 under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. The founding governing body consisted of 7 educators sharing similar concerns about the abuses endured by children because of unhealthy educational practices.
The members of the first Governing body were Anne Radhakrishnamurti (president), T.Venugopalarao (vice-president), S.R.Parimi (secretary), Y.Venkateswararao, B.V.Apparao, Y. Ramakrishnayya and E.Venkateswararao
Over the last 37 years, many enthusiastic college graduates joined the Trust as members and contributed towards furthering the Trust's objectives. The present strength of the General Body is 36. The General Body, as per the bylaws, elects the new Governing Body every 3 years.
The present Governing Body members are Dr. S. R. Parimi (President), A. Jagannatha Rao (vice-president), Nandu Parimi (secretary), Jayasree Guttikonda (treasurer), R. Santhi, Mani Akkineni, and Suresh Kosaraju.
The Trust is registered under Section 12 A of the Income-Tax Act 1961, and was granted exemption u/s 80G for the contributions received by the Trust.
The Trust is registered under Section 6 (1) (a) of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976, and is authorized to receive foreign contributions towards the charitable activities of the Trust.
Activities of the Trust include -
Vikasa Vidya Vanam Day School
Living Vikasa Vidya Vanam
Providing scholarships to children belonging to low income groups
Organizing annual seminars on topics related to school education
Organizing awareness programs for parents on holistic development of children
Organizing workshops/seminars for teachers on 'Child-Centered Education'
Organized awareness programs for teachers and parents in collaboration with organizations like -Forum for child centered education, Loksatta, Jana Vignana Vedika
Publishing the proceedings of the Seminars and Workshops
TAB (Trust Advisory Board) is a Body constituted by Vikasa Educational Trust for the purpose of advising the Trust on all matters concerning the functioning of the Living Vikasa Vidya Vanam. It formulates the ‘Founding Principles’ consistent with the philosophy of Vikasa Vidya Vanam and submits the same to the Trust for approval. It recommends to the Trust for approval, the content of the Curriculum for the both Schools, reviewed and modified, if necessary, at the end of each academic year. TAB also evaluates, from time to time, the process of curriculum transaction and suggests ways to improve. It advises the Trust, if the decisions taken by the Panchayiti and Velugu are within the framework of the Founding Principles of the Living-in-School.