The Rajghat Education Centre, Varanasi

Schools

Rishi Valley School
Rajghat Besant School
The School
The Valley School
Sahyadri School
Bal Anand

The Rajghat Education Centre (REC)

The Rajghat Education Centre (REC) lies just outside the pilgrim city of Varanasi, which is steeped in history and legend. The campus overlooks the confluence of the Varuna with the Ganga, from which Varanasi derives its name. The campus' vast open spaces alternate with deep tree cover, creating a sense of serenity. The ‘pilgrim path' that Krishnamurti describes in his writings wends its way through the campus, across the Varuna and through the ancient villages, towards Sarnath.

This sprawling campus of 400 acres, stretching across both banks of the Varuna, consists of the many units of the REC–the Rajghat Besant School (RBS), the Vasanta College for Girls, Vasantashram, and the Krishnamurti Study Centre/Retreat. Across the Varuna, the Rural Centre has the Sanjivan Hospital, a free primary health centre, the Rural Primary School of about 400 students from surrounding villages, a dairy, and an agricultural farm.

Rajghat Besant School is a residential, co-educational, English medium school affiliated to the CBSE Board, New Delhi. With a strength of about 370 students from Standard II to XII, the school has a teacher-student ratio of 1:8. It offers a range of extra-curricular activities, including fine arts and sports. Students live in hostels with resident wardens. There is a guest house for visiting parents and guests.

School sessions: Early July to mid-October; mid-November to late April.

Vasanta College for Girls, started in 1913 by Dr. Annie Besant, is one of the oldest institutions in the State, and has done pioneering work in the field of women's education in India. Affiliated to the Benares Hindu University, the college, with about 1,000 students, consists of the faculties of arts, social sciences, commerce, and education. There is a hostel, Vasantashram, for the college girls who come from outside Varanasi.

Rural Centre This consists of a Village Primary School, an agriculture farm, a livestock farm, and the Sanjivan Hospital on the eastern side of the Varuna. The school caters to about 150 children in the pre-school stage and over 300 children in grades I to V. The farm, besides meeting the needs of the campus, gives training to the village farmers. The hospital offers free medical aid to the neighbouring villagers.

Weather: Varanasi, like most of North India, has well-marked seasons: Winter (Nov-Feb); spring (March-April); summer (May-June); monsoons (July-Oct). The best time to be there is in spring and early winter.

How to get there: 1. By air: Indian Airlines operates regular flights from Bombay and Delhi.
2. By rail: The city is well connected to Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta through the Varanasi Cantonment ( 7 km) and Mughal Sarai (10 km) railway stations.
3. By road: Varanasi is an important city on the Delhi-Calcutta Grant Trunk Road.
Cycle-rickshaws, autorickshaws and taxis are easily available. Ask for Vasanta College (on campus) or the Kashi railway station (less than a kilometre from the campus).

For details write to:
The Rector, Rajghat Education Centre.
The Principal, Rajghat Besant School.

Address:
Rajghat Fort, Varanasi – 221 001, India.
Tel: (0542) 2430717/ 2430721/ 2430336
E-mails : kfivns@satyam.net.in and kfirvns@nde.vsnl.net.in
Website : www.jkrishnamurti.org