Bhopal: 68 Years Back, Six Women Launched School For Kids Of Govt Staffers

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After the formation of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 1956, a larger number of state government officers and employees moved to Bhopal, its new capital, from Nagpur. To cater to the educational needs of their children, six women came together to form an organisation called Vanita Samaj and launched a nursery school. The school had two rooms and just eight students. Sixty-eight years on, the school, now known as Anand Vihar, has more than 1,800 students and is one of the leading schools in the city. The Vanita Samaj was formally registered as a society in 1962 and has been managing the school since then.

Of the six founder-members, only one, Archana Bagchi, who was a 22-year-old newlywed at the time.  “We started from a two-room school and gradually grew into a big one. For the construction of the building, donations were collected door-to-door by the members of Vanita Samaj,” Bagchi told media persons on Thursday.

The members of the Samaj also donated their pension amount for the development of Anand Vihar School and College. “Today those members are not present among us, but their contribution is unforgettable,” she said. Chairperson of the school and college Madhu Saran said that the Samaj provides various types of scholarships and awards to talented school and college students, in which cash awards, certificates and medals are given.