Bal Vikas: Nurturing young minds since 50 yrs

Challenging the current practice of education that focuses more on collection of facts and cramming of knowledge from the book to the head, the organisation has been keen on enhancing concentration of mind, which is the essence of education. The philosophical cornerstone of the education system propounded by Baba is the concept of ‘Educare’. Through the women’s wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Baba started Bal Vihars in 1969. A national conference was organised in 1971 for volunteers who had been trained as teachers and administrators of the programme. The name Bal Vikas (blossoming of the child) was chosen in order to better clarify the objectives. The programme aims to expose young minds to the quintessential message of all world religions and prophets, saints and sages. The programme has been provided at no cost to the participating students consistently for the past 50 years. Over the last five decades, the programme has graduated from being an initiative to a mass movement for the resurgence of Indian ethos and values.The curriculum emphasises on using five techniques in a systematic and integrated manner. A full-fledged curriculum of nine years covering ages 5 to 13, divided into three stages, is delivered culminating in a Diploma.