Reach one, teach all

Vidyagyan schools are changing the way students engage with education to make them community leaders

In many sleepy villages of Uttar Pradesh, this is considered the exam to crack. Coaching centres do brisk business, training applicants for it. Every year, 140,000 apply and fewer than 600 make it. This isn’t, however, an engineering or medical entrance test. Applicants who clear two rounds of screening and a stringent background check gain admission into Class VI at Shiv Nadar Foundation’s Vidyagyan Schools in Bulandshahr and Sitapur in UP. It’s the equivalent of the golden ticket for people living in some of the most backward areas in north India. Spending as much as Rs 21 lakh per student