The Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) are a system of central government schools in India that have been instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). They comprise over a thousand schools in India and three abroad. All the schools share a common syllabus and offer bilingual instruction, in English and Hindi languages. They are co-educational. Sanskrit is taught as a compulsory subject from classes VI to VIII and as an optional subject until class XII.
The system came into being in 1963 under the name ‘Central Schools’. Later, the name was changed to Kendriya Vidyalaya. All the schools are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Its objective is to educate children of the Indian Defence Services personnel who are often posted to remote locations. With the army starting its own Army Public Schools, the service was extended (but not restricted) to all central government employees.
KVs offer a variety of experiences to students leading to their all-round development. The schools (each one of them) are all same, you can move from one KV to another not feeling any difference. They consist of kids from different parts of the country, making sure you grow up in an environment where there’s no discrimination over caste and creed and for this reason KVs celebrates all types of festivals in school because of which the KV’s annual day has different collections of performances. Teachers working in KV are highly qualified; they have to clear national level exams for getting selected. KVs allows only a fix number of students for admission so that each student can be looked after. Private schools have 10 sections in class 12 (Science) with 70 students in each class, but KV hardly has 2 sections (1 Biology and 1 Maths) for 12 (Science), each class with a strength of 40 students. The education standards need no commentary as the statistics have been speaking for themselves since ages. The schools are known to produce leaders and warriors (aye, all three forces are full of KVians).
Moreover KVs are affiliated to CBSE board and being a government run organization KVs offer cost effective education to students compared to private schools. The CBSE syllabus is comparatively more rational and scientific in its approach. It has been designed for a specific year and is divided into various segments and every segment is given a specific number of periods so that it can be completely and thoroughly taught in one year. As a result, the CBSE system enables the teachers to prepare the teaching of various subjects in a coherent manner. Moreover, this system helps the students allocate time to different subjects in a balanced way. Tuition fees are charged for boys from class IX onward, and students have to pay the school development fund (Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi), with the proceeds spent on the development of that particular school. Students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and children of KV employees are exempt from tuition fees. Girls who are their parents’ only child are exempt from tuition and school development fund payments from class VI onwards.
I do not think there’s any private school which can boast of such big a network and quality education. Furthermore, KV’s exposure is more, so students have a deep sense of institution, national integration and brotherhood.
Apart from KVs, there are many other schools in India worthy of note. Here‘s a list of the top 10 ICSE schools in India.
