Bhubaneswar: There is no place like home and no village like one’s own. This is what drew back Dr Pradeep Sethi, back to his childhood village of Berunapadi in Keonjhar district. Although he went on to become a doctor, he never forgot the adversities of his life here, working as a labourer.
He came back to his village 15 years later, to give it the gift of education in the form of a no-fee world-class school.
Sethi nurtured the dream of giving the children of his village an opportunity to study, while he himself was a student at the national capital’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
His dream came true in March this year when Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Utkal Gaurav International School in Berunapadi, for which many villagers also donated their land.
The school, built on 10 acres, is meant for extremely poor children who can’t afford education and has the capacity to enroll around 2,500 students from Class I to XII at present. Children are not charged any fee for studies. Many skill development and placement courses will be developed. It also has professional courses have also been introduced here like fisheries, Information Technology and science, among others. Around 50 more new classrooms are being added to the present building.
It is equipped with all world-class facilities and will have an expert faculty from abroad and celebrities like Jubin Nautiyal, Sonu Nigam for teaching music, former Indian cricket team captain Ravi Shastri for sports, and Rajiv Bajaj for business.
Dr Pradeep Sethi, a follower and lifelong student of the Yogoda Satsanga Foundation set up by Sr Paramahansa Yogananda. The entire management, including teachers, are lesson members of YSS. The senior leadership consists of Kriyabans,” according to a press release issued by the school released earlier this year.
