Jun 05, 2006 :: A gurukul in Hariala

The Hariala Gurukul, 40km from Ahmedabad has 450 students that other schools don’t want because they are considered incapable of formal education. The Gurukul however has been turning them into achievers: it has a pass percentage of 90% over the last 15 years of its existence. Students are from affluent as well as from poorer ones. Costs are waived for the latter. Many parents are businessmen and bureaucrats.

65 year old Bhaktajivan Das Shastri has taught for 45 years in the Indian Gurukul system, where students live full time with the teacher. He taught at the famous Rajkot Gurukul for 30 years before starting his own. He feels most children show poor performance because parents are too busy with their careers. [Source India Abroad News Service]