| Gram Vikas Residential Schools | |
| Established: | 1982 |
| Type: | Private boarding school |
| Founder: | Joe Madiath |
| State: | Odisha |
| Country: | India |
| Coordinates: | 19.2445°N 84.7014°W |
| Gender: | Co-educational |
| Enrollment: | 1500 |
| Faculty: | 50 |
| Affiliation: | Board of Secondary Education, Odisha (BSE Odisha) |
| Website: | |
| Age Range: | 8–17 |
Gram Vikas Residential School[1] is a co-educational Odia medium school that offers education from Grade 3 to Grade 10 level in Odisha, India. The school was founded in 1982 by Dr. Joe Madiath. It is affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha. It has four branches. Gram Vikas High School was established in 1982[2] at Kankia village in the Ganjam district. Mahendra Tanaya Ashram School was established in Koinpur village in Gajapati District of Odisha in 1992. Two more schools, Gram Vikas Shiksa Niketan and Gram Vikas Vidya Vihar, were established in 1998 and 2002 in Kalahandi district and Ganjam district, respectively.
In 1971, Joe Madiath led 400 volunteers from the University of Madras' Young Students' Movement for Development to West Bengal to manage relief camps for refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Witnessing the devastation of the 1971 Odisha cyclone, and realising the comparatively little attention received by the disaster victims, Madiath and a small group of 40 volunteers shifted their attention there.[3]
The group decided that the best way to help the cyclone victims was to provide irrigation facilities. Once these efforts were completed, the group handed over the facilities to the villagers and left. But Madiath and a small group of YSMD volunteers came to the realisation that the irrigation facilities benefited mostly the landlords, and decided to stay in Orissa to become social activists.
Joe Madiath and remaining volunteers moved to Ganjam district at the invitation of the local authorities, and established Gram Vikas in 1979 and Gram Vikas Resdeintial School Kankia in 1982.
The campuses of the school are spread over 3 districts of Odisha. The campuses include:
Students at Gram Vikas Residential School, Kankia, are encouraged to be self-reliant and participate in various daily activities of the school campus.
The school collaborated with 'Pro sports Development'[4] organization to bring about holistic development of kids in physical education. In Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan[5] - 2014, students won 14 gold medals and 2 silver medals in various sports at district level. In weightlifting competition, 9 out of 15 participants won gold medals.
The school has an active Atal Tinkering Lab funded by NITI Aayog under Atal Innovation Mission.It was inaugurated by Honourable Speaker of Odisha Dr. Surjya Narayan Patro.[6] The students of the school make various science models and innovative prototypes along with working with sensors and robots.
The American School in Switzerland (TASIS) visits Gram Vikas every year with a group of students.[7] [8]
Establishment: 2 July 1982Classes: From Class 3 to Class 10.Students: 504Teachers: 23Address: Kankia Village, Ganjam District, Odisha – 761008[9]
Mahendra Tanaya Ashram School is located in Koinpur Village in Gajapati district of Odisha. Koinpur village is 50 km from the nearest town Parlekhemundi. The village and the adjacent villages mostly consisted of Saura tribe with 100% illiteracy rate. To overcome this, Mahendra Tanaya Ashram School was established in 1992. The school is located in Gram Vikas project office. The school operates from class 3 to class 7 in co-educational mode. It caters to the children from the Anandpur, Karadasingh and Koinpur project locations of Gram Vikas.Looking at the need and demand from the community to start education at early age for their kids, one more school, Gatida School, was started on 12 July 2007 with 4 primary classes, from class 1 to class 4 and covers 27 villages in the Gajapati district.
Establishment: 15 August 1992Classes: From Class 3 to Class 7Students: 237Teachers: 12Address: Koinpur Village, Gajapati District, Odisha – 761212
Gram Vikas started a residential school, Gram Vikas Shikshya Niketan School, at Kumudabahal in Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district. It is located 62 kilometers from the District headquarters, Bhawanipatna. Gram Vikas Sikshya Niketan School was established on 15th Aug 1998. Most of the children are from remote places and, often, extremely backward areas without any road connection and electricity.
Establishment: 15 August 1998Classes: From Class 3 to Class 8Students: 330Teachers: 15Address: Kumudabahal Village, Th. Rampur, Kalahandi District, Odisha – 766037
Gram Vikas established Gram Vikas Vidya Vihar School on 15 August 2002 at Rudhadapadar Village adjacent to Gram Vikas project office in Jagannath Prasad Block of Ganjam district. This school provides education to children from Tribal and Dalit communities of the area.
The school has an Innovation Lab by the name of Navonmesh Prayogshala (which is the Sanskrit term for Innovation Lab)[10] under which students make science models like water rocket, kaleidoscope, periscope, cup anemometer etc. using local materials.[11]
Establishment: 15 July 2002Classes: From Class 3 to Class 7Students: 167Teachers: 9Address: Gayaganda Village, Ganjam District, Odisha – 761131
The school has an active collaborations with various schools, universities and non-governmental organizations with interns, volunteers, fellows and trainers going on a frequent basis to Gram Vikas Residential Schools. Some of them are