Maitreya Universal Education School, Bodhgaya

Older students

Morning break

Younger students

The Maitreya Universal Education pilot school in Bodhgaya has around 400 daytime students from kindergarten to Class 12. In the evening, informal classes are also offered for around 100 children as well as some adults who cannot attend in the daytime.

The school occupies a two storey building on a ¾ acre site about 2 km from the centre of Bodhgaya and most of the students come from poor families in surrounding villages.

No fees are charged and the school provides uniforms, books, meals and healthcare. The school also provides residential accommodation for a small number of children who either need special care and attention or may not otherwise be able to attend school. Admission guidelines are designed to give preference to children from poorer families and ensure that girls make up at least 50% of enrolments.

The school employs 22 full-time teachers, seven part-time teachers and 9 non-teaching staff, all of whom are local people. Western teachers and other volunteers assist with teacher training and curriculum development.

In this part of India, the majority of people rely on subsistence agriculture or menial labour to support their families. They experience many problems including poverty, landlessness and conflict over land tenure, inadequate healthcare, high infant mortality, inter-caste violence, crime and illiteracy.

Some facts about Bodhgaya...

About 120,000 inhabitants live in the Bodhgaya "block".
The majority are Hindu and about 15-20% are Muslim.
30% are "scheduled caste" ie, people legally recognised as suffering discrimination.
22% of the population is under the age of six.
Literacy rates are: 49% for men and 24% for women.