Uttarakhand's school tries to focus on creating good human beings

A class in moral science or some way of introducing this into the syllabus could go a long way in reducing societal afflictions such as violence and crime

What is the purpose of education? Is it to get a good paying job or to create a good human being? Is it important to teach values and ethics, how to tell right from wrong?

Bijoya Sawian wrestled with these questions before setting up an English-medium school in what was then a rural hamlet, Vikasnagar in Uttarakhand. Right from the word go, Sawian’s focus was on teaching students how to conduct themselves, good manners and behaviour, the difference between right and wrong, the value of cleanliness, integrity, honesty and so on. “Education includes all this — otherwise, we are only