Kolkata, Sep 4 (PTI) The education wing of the RSS, Vidya Bharati, is preparing for a major expansion of its school network in West Bengal, with plans to establish a presence in all 345 blocks of the state over the next few years, officials said.
The expansion push has gained momentum following Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s recent call for at least 1,000 Vidya Bharati institutions across the state, a move that could significantly widen the organisation’s educational footprint in Bengal.
Vidya Bharati currently runs 313 schools across 150 blocks, according to its joint organising secretary Partha Ghosh.
“We have plans to expand our schools from 150 blocks to at least one school in each block of the state in the next few years,” Ghosh told PTI.
Another senior official said the organisation had planned to enter 50 more blocks over the next year.
“We have been in expansion mode for the last few years. We had plans to expand into 50 more blocks of the state in the next one year,” Chiranjit Mahato, another Vidya Bharati official said.
The proposed expansion comes at a politically significant juncture, with the newly elected BJP government in the state seeking changes in the education administration and greater emphasis on what it describes as Indian cultural and nationalist perspectives in education.
Vidya Bharati is also looking at the expansion as a milestone ahead of 2027, when it will mark 75 years of its educational activities.
“In 2027, it will be the 75th anniversary of Vidya Bharati schools. So we hope to expand significantly,” Mahato said.
Vidya Bharati schools largely follow the curriculum of the respective state boards or the CBSE, while incorporating the organisation’s emphasis on Indian culture, values and national consciousness.
“In West Bengal, only one school is under the CBSE, and the rest follow the West Bengal Board. So students follow the curriculum of the respective boards,” an official said.
“However, in certain subjects such as history, where there are a lot of distortions in textbooks, we tell them what we believe is the true history for their knowledge. But obviously, they will write answers based on their own curriculum; otherwise, how will they pass?” he added.
Adhikari, at an event in Kolkata marking Vidya Bharati’s 74th year, had called for the organisation’s schools to be established in every district, municipality and panchayat and urged it to play a greater role in what he described as imparting “nationalistic learning”.
The remarks have added a political dimension to Vidya Bharati’s expansion plans, which are likely to draw greater attention to the organisation’s role in Bengal’s education ecosystem.
Nationwide, Vidya Bharati runs more than 12,000 schools and over 10,000 Bal Sanskar Kendras, according to the organisation. Its schools in West Bengal include institutions offering education up to Classes 10 and 12.
| The organisation also runs Sanskar Kendras, where children are introduced to Indian culture, traditions and rituals.
The expansion plan comes against the backdrop of Adhikari’s broader criticism of the state’s education system under the erstwhile Left Front and the TMC regime. He has accused previous governments of weakening the educational environment in Bengal and alleged that curricula had been altered for political reasons.
At the Vidya Bharati event on Thursday, Adhikari had also spoken of consolidating the state’s multiple education departments into a single administrative structure, arguing that education should not be fragmented into separate streams.
For Vidya Bharati, the proposed expansion would entail a significant logistical exercise involving infrastructure, teachers and organisational capacity.
The proposed growth also comes amid a wider political contest over the role of culture, language, identity and ideology in Bengal’s education system. An expanded network of schools run by an organisation associated with the RSS could further intensify that debate.
For now, Vidya Bharati officials say the immediate objective is to widen their presence beyond the 150 blocks where the organisation currently operates.
From 313 schools today to a stated target of 1,000, the proposed expansion could substantially reshape Vidya Bharati’s footprint in West Bengal’s education landscape. PTI PNT NN
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