Our History

Photos at foot  of page: Offering morning class to destitute children from around 1986. Venerable Anuruddha is the  translator. Two classes for about 40 children held in two tents. Group picture around 2007 at end of a retreat in the Thai Monastery. Participants attended the school cultural event and gave generous donations at end of event to support the school. Some of the Westerners began raising donations to start the school.

 

1986 - 1989.  ROYAL THAI MONASTERY. The monastery hosted 20 days of insight meditation (vipassana) retreats for internationals and Indians. Dharma teacher  Christopher Titmuss (UK),  a former Buddhist monk in the Thai Theravada tradition, also offered a class every morning to around 50 – 70 of the local beggar children in the main temple. Venerable Anuruddha, an Indian Buddhist monk or Prema, kindly translated. ​Most children came from Mastipur village, five minutes walk from the monastery. The barefooted children came dressed in rags in the cold January winter and stood facing the rising sun before the class to warm their bodies after a cold night. ( See photo on home page). Our school today stands besides Mastipur village. 

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The monastery provided bananas, peanuts and small gifts to the children. Older children would often carry their younger brother or sister. ​Anuruddha appreciated these morning sessions and started a class in a Tibetan monastery for uneducated children in arithmetic, Hindi and English. In 1989, retreatants donated money to enable the class to continue for a year.

 

​​A committee of Anuruddha, Kabir Saxena, a Tibetan practitioner, and others rented a room in the local Sakya Tibetan Temple beginning on 1st March 1990. They hired two local teachers, Preyag Prajapati and Sumitra Devi, paying them a small salary. There was an opening day ceremony at the Temple and Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessed the two teachers and children. Twenty-five of the poorest children from the village had been enrolled, but forty children arrived. None were turned away. ​We appreciated the kindness of Mahayana Buddhists for their support in getting the two classes underway for a period in the Sakya Temple and Root Institude. ​Prema and Ranji Bhandari became two trustees for many years of our school. Both offered much wise advice on business administration, charity status and communications with the government.

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School's first bank account opened in the West, named Prajna Vihar School for donations . ​Why start an inter-religious school instead of a Buddhist school?  We wished to cultivate unity  amidst diversity  and keep away from religious sectarianism.  This led to a collective agreement. The Indian constitution supports religious diversity.  More funds were raised in the next two years to buy a small piece of land to build a school besides Mastipur village. 

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1991. LAND PURCHASED IN MASTIPUR. Two tents provided shelter for the first two classes that our first teachers Preyag Prajapati and Sumitra Devi offered. The fledgling school fulfilled a social need, and supporters increased efforts to gather the funds to support the school. ​Thomas Jost (1945 - 2000) from Germany, a caring  retreat manager for 16 years, spent three months a year in Bodh Gaya giving immense daily support to the school in his role as a coordinator.  Revered by the school, the head teacher had a small memorial built in his memory.  A photograph of Thomas is still on the shelf in the office of the head teacher. ​Thomas died from dengue fever (spread from mosquitoes) in Nepal.

 

1992. FIRST BUILDING. Two classrooms were built In 1992, a two-room mud and brick building with a straw roof replaced the tents. Ven. Kabir Saxena and Rick have remained  important guardian angels for the school since its formation. Along with others, both offer wise counsel on the many challenges running a school in Bihar. ​Our school with its vision of inter-religious co-operation, the arts and studies pleased many people in Bodh Gaya, as well as the West. Money came in to pay running costs, to buy land and build the classrooms.

 

1993. ADMINSTRATION COMMITTEE FORMED. Committee agreed to invite a local order of Catholic nuns, the Queen of the Apostles, to provide a principal and assistant principal for our inter-religious school. The kindness and expertise of the nuns continue to make an immense contribution to the success of the school in the spirit and letter of its vision. The principals of the school continue to show ongoing dedication. Mr. Prayag Prajapati (March 1990-1994), Sr. Udita (April 1993-1994), Sr Cicile (June 1994 - 1997), Sr. Anjali (1997-2003), Sr. Yogita (2003-2004), Sr. Bindu (2004-2008), Sr. Shobha (2008 - 2015), Sr Anicia (2015), Sr Rashmi (April 2016 - March 2018), Sr Shobha (April 2018 –  November 2023), Sr Udita (November 2023 – present).

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1994.  APPEAL FOR DONATIONS AT END OF RETREATS. At the end of each of the 10-day retreats more than 100 retreatants attended a school concert of classical/contemporary dance and story telling in the grounds of the school. The appeal for donations at the end of the two-hour concert raised a few thousand dollars. A small group of friends in Australia started a group called the Bodhgaya Development Association, to raise funds for the school and other programmes in Bodh Gaya. One retreatant, Felix Helg raised funds in his hometown in Switzerland. ​These were among the primary funds for the first 20 years.

 

1995. CLASSROOMS EXPANDED. In 1994-95, the Abbot of the Burmese Monastery, Ven. U. Nyaneinda took charge of the construction of the two floors of our current building. Felix raised the money for the building material and wages for workers. More rooms were added year by year. Each year from 1990 to 1997, the school added a class to accommodate the original pupils as they progressed up to Class 8. Lower and Upper Kindergarten classes were later added. In response to persistent requests from children, the school built two additional classes in 2006. This provided education for Class 9 and then Class 10. In 2023, new government regulations restricted schools to an upper limit of Class 8 (about 14 years of age). These teens moved onto upper secondary education in other schools.

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1998 FIRST GRADUATION. The first Prajna Vihar School graduation occurred in 1998. Then the school had more than 300 students enrolled, with the successful completion of class 8 by seven girls and 16 boys. Each subsequent year has brought a celebration for the transition of another class of students as they embark on their next adventure, be it admission to college, undertaking vocational training, exploring work prospects or managing family duties.

 

2001. NOT-FOR-PROFIT SCHOOL ESTABLISHED. Indian government recognised Prajna Vihar Inter-religious Education Society (PVIRES) as a not-for-profit organization in 2001. The management committee gradually merged into the Prajna Vihar Inter-religious Education Society board (PVIRES) which now governs the school. They successfully applied for the FCRA to enable the school to receive foreign donations, and non-profit status to enable tax-deductible donations within India. Society Board members meet periodically to guide the development of the school, draft policies, and oversee the budget.

 

2007. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING. Kerstin Liebchen, an Australian educator, started her association with our school in the initial stages of 1991. She and others founded the Bodhgaya Development Association. From 2007 onwards, she began visiting the Prajna Vihar school sharing pedagogical and educational knowledge. She returns to Bodh Gaya periodically and offers activity-based programs for the children, and teacher training and professional development workshops for the teachers and staff.

 

2008. US FUNDRAISING AND SPONSORSHIP. Shaila Catherine in the USA and her meditation group Insight Meditation South Bay raised funds for the day-to-day running costs and arranged for fiscal sponsorship through One World Children's Fund (2008 – ). In addition, significant gifts came from Compassion Beyond Borders in USA during the early 2000s. Bryan Moran organized a triathlon in Canada to raise the funds for building expansion in 2015. We are grateful for the many named and unnamed supporters of our school who supported the school with a one-time gift, gave annually for a couple of years, or remain ongoing dedicated donors.

 

​2008. FIRST PLACE AWARDS. Prajna Vihar School students bagged first prize in both the Hindi and English speech competition at an interschool competition organized by the Maha Bodhi Society in Bodh Gaya. In the arts categories, Prajna Vihar students won second prize in drawing, and third prize in music. Prajna Vihar students regularly excel in both local and regional competitions in quiz, math, speech, and arts. They often earn awards in competitions, and won first place in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024 interschool events.

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2010. SCHOOL GROUNDS EXPANDED. In April 2010, the school purchased land adjacent to the school. This new land was 15% bigger than the original school land. This additional land doubled the size of our school and gave students a significant size playground – much to their delight.

 

2015 CLASSROOMS & TOILETS BUILT. In  2014 and 2015, the school built a large new classroom block and new toilets. Long standing international patrons/supporters including Kerstin, Rick, Tom, Christopher  and others continued their regular visits to the school to attend committee meetings, to meet with teachers and pupils, film and promote the school worldwide.

 

2018 PRINCIPAL AWARDED. In September 2018, the Rotary Club of Gaya recognized the principal, Sister Shobha, for her exceptional service.

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2020-2022. Covid virus impacted on Bodh Gaya.  Two of our trustees, both respected Theravada Buddhist monks, succumbed to the virus. Bhikkhu Bodhipala, 52,  died from Covid in 2020. Venerable Sayadaw U Nyaneinda, Abbot of the Myanmar Monastery, died from Covid in 2021. Visitors to India slowly return to the pre-covid period. We are always happy to receive any photos of the school for any year. Please send to support@prajnaviharschool.org

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2023 SUSTAINABILITY GRANT RECEIVED. A grant from One World’s Children’s Fund provided funds for projects that increased the sustainability of administrative procedures, supported building and property maintenance, upgraded computer equipment, and improved classroom conditions.

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2024. SCHOOL MARKS 35 YEARS.  We created this new website you are reading celebrating the school since its conception in 1989 with text, links to six short videos and 101 photgraphs. We are immensely grateful for every person, past and present, supporting our beloved school to support some of the many poor children in Bodh Gaya. Evolution of the school continues. School committee agrees to invite parents to provide a modest monthly payment to help cover costs.

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2025 onwards. We will provide annual updates of developments of our school.

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Thank you to Victor in Australia for creating and managing the previous school website for many years. See: www.pvschool.in.

 

​Do forward on our new website to your family, friends and colleagues. ​Your interest  in our school gives encouragement and inspiration to pupils and teachers.

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Keep in touch.