Gram Vikas High School, Kankia in Ganjam district, has achieved a 100% pass result in Class X for the 9th consecutive year. All the school’s 130 students, comprising 50 girls and 80 boys, have passed with first division. Among them, 23 students scored above eighty percent. The rest of the 107 students scored between 60 to 80 percent.

The Gram Vikas High School was established in 1982 in Kankia village in Kukudakhandi block of Ganjam district. The school provides high-quality and up-to-date technology education for children from Adivasi communities.

“The students this year have worked amidst exceptionally challenging situations as schools remained closed for two years. First, they did not have enough resources to buy books, so they borrowed books from each other to complete their course. Living in remote hilly areas, they faced poor internet connectivity, and most did not have the required devices”, said Debendra Das, Headmaster of Gram Vikas High School, Kankia.

“Many students hailing from other districts enroll in our school due to the quality of education imparted here,” he adds. “We have made efforts to provide up-to-date science and technology education to our students, most of whom are first-generation learners. The school has an innovation STEM lab on the school premises, which helps students design award-winning science models. But most schools in remote areas do not have adequate education materials, lack trained teachers, and poor infrastructure. ”

Sundarsing Majhi, from the Kalahandi district, topped the class with 88%, achieving distinction. He wants to study science to further his dreams of becoming a doctor in the future. He says, “I couldn’t have achieved such a high percentage without the support of my teachers. The last four months, when we returned to school right before the exam, we studied for over fifteen hours, and our teachers were always present to clear any doubts we might have. My parents are thrilled with my result.”

Sundarsing’s cousin works with Gram Vikas. Noticing Sundarsing’s interest in studies, he advised him to enroll in Gram Vikas’ Shiskhya Niketan school in Kalahandi. The seats in the school were filled up. Sundarsing approached Gram Vikas High School in Kankia, where he enrolled in 2019.

Hemanta Sabar from Gajapati district struggled to study when the schools remained closed during the pandemic as there was no internet or telephone connectivity in his village. “Due to the lack of a smartphone device at home, I had to borrow a relative’s smartphone and walk to the nearest network area weekly to download the assignments my teachers sent through WhatsApp. Sometimes our teachers asked us to download videos from YouTube to understand a concept better.”

But Hemanta is delighted that he scored 87% marks in the final exams through hard work. “It wasn’t easy, but I was focused. I want to pursue science at a good college. I dream of becoming a doctor one day,”

Another student from Gajapati, Harekrushna Bhuyan, also wants to be a doctor. He got 86% in the finals and secured the third position in the school. His father owns a stationery shop in Koinpur Panchayat in the district. “My father wants me to enroll in a good residential coaching center. I hope to continue studying well and achieving my dreams,” says Harekrushna, who was happy and excited after hearing the news.

During the two-year closure, the Gram Vikas High School opened Community Learning Centers in Tamana and Vikaspur in the Kukudakhandi block, Ganjam district. Similarly, in Mohena block in the Gajapati district, students from the Gram Vikas school and other government schools studied at the Community Learning Centers in Chudangapur, Sialilati, and Jharanapur. Teachers from the Gram Vikas High School travelled to the Community Learning Centers and stayed in the villages to conduct the classes.

A central principle in post-crisis recovery is to take advantage of the moment and build back better. Gram Vikas High School is now providing new support for improved learning to fill the gap by providing remedial classes after school hours.

Many students living in no-network areas missed out on all educational avenues. Class 1 – 8 students will now get a chance to clear their concepts and fundamentals on all subjects while continuing to cover their respective syllabi. As a residential school, teachers are putting their effort into teaching during school hours to cover the course and take remedial classes in the evenings so that students can catch up.

The four Gram Vikas residential schools have graduated 1241 first-generation learners (523 girls) from Adivasi communities in 173 habitations in Odisha.

Acknowledgment: Debendranath Dash, Head Master, Gram Vikas High School, Kankia, Ganjam district, helped with data collection for the story. Ganesh Chakravarthi edited the story.