Ram S. Arya (Sep 27, 2003 10:03 p.m.):
Before I describe the qualifications for the post, let me describe the school itself and that way prosoective person can visualize the qualifications needed. After a review of the pitiful state of education in Govt. school and private schools in my village, my wife Santosh and I decided to open a non-profit school in the village Kalirawan, Hisar. I gathered all the Panchs and Mukhiyas of the village in December 2000 and explained our idea of opening a school where the village children can get decent education at a very reasonable cost. Idea of free education was nixed by well wishers and people close to us because of our present mentality that anything free is worth nothing and is something not to be cared about. Most of the people gathered liked the idea but we could spot some skeptics without them saying so. It was suggested that Panchayat should donate land for the school. Idea was to get the villagers involved in "their" school and not call it Ram Sarup's school. A Non-profit trust was set up in India and here in USA we already had North American Jat Charities, Inc., a non-profit tax-exempt organization started in 1994 by some Jat families for charitable work in India (more about NAJC some place else here). After passing lot of Bureaucratic hurdles in 12-13 months, gift from Panchayat of 5 acres of land for school was held up by the top rung of the Bureaucratic ladder - caste jealousy or skepticism of the idea of a non-profit school? We bought 3 acres of land in 2002 and started construction. This school building is on the road connecting Hisar, Agroha, Adampur, Bahadra (Rajasthan).
We started classes in 2001 with 35 students in KG and 35 in first grade in renovated Nohras and Chaupals. School was so successful the first year itself that all the skeptics converted to believers that this school is really for the benefit of the village as they could easily compare the income and expenses and deduct that it is not for the profit of Arya family. With the demand so overwhelming, next year (2002), we had to increase the admission to 70 students in KG with two sections. Children are admitted only in KG and not higher classes and thus it will take about 12 years to reach upto 12th grade and become a full high school. Now the school is in its third year of existence with about 250 students in KG to 3rd grade. Ratio of Boys/Girls is 60/40. School has become very popular and the people from other villages are requesting permission to admit their kids. We are unable to do that as long as we have enough kids from our village. Our village has 1000+ families with 65% Jats, 15-18% Bishnois and rest others. Seems like we definitely have more than 70 kids each year for school. We might have to open sattelite primary schools in neighboring villages to accommodate their request and then bring students in higher classes to Kalirawan.
Besides classroom teaching of books, students learn Indian culture, customs, history and take part in physical education, yoga, public speaking, gardening etc. School days are about one hour longer than Govt. schools and school year is 30-40 days longer also. Teachers are Graduates and some of them have B.Ed/JBT. We encourage them to take admission in B.Ed with a gurantee of employment on completion. So far we have 7 teachers, one for every 30-35 students and will be adding 2-3 every year. School will be affiliated with CBSE and therefore more or less are following that syllabus.
One floor of the school building has been completed with 12 classrooms and administrative block. It will be a three story building with about 44000 SF of covered area. We have about 25 acres of personal farming land adjacent to school and therefore that will be utilized for palygrounds, teacher's residential quarters and expansion. We plan to start construction next year of teacher's residential compound with a community hall for their use. All classes will be held in this new building from April 2004.
My wife and I will be providing all the money needed for this school. We have committed one million dollars at present, $100,000.(about Rs. 45 lacs) each year for 10 years or as needed. By the end of 2012, enough amount will be deposited in a Trust account to take care of any deficit and capital expenditures needed.
QUALIFICATIONS OF PRINCIPAL/DIRECTOR: Now back to qualifications. Need a dedicated educationist/administrator with a vision not necessarily same as ours but at least not opposite of ours, can set up this school with liabrary, sports dept, music dept, science and computer labs, get affiliated with CBSE, hire qualified and dedicated teachers and other staff, can set an example himself for others to follow and of course do it for free (kidding!).
I will be visiting India in Feb and March, 2004. Final decision will be made then but I would like to communicate with the prospective candidates before that.
Any suggestions, constructive criticism and ideas for improvement of school or addition to school will be valued from anyone after visiting the school or without visiting.
I apologize for a long write up though intention was not. Thanks to every jatland member for expected help, comments and criticsm. Ram S. Arya
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