Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala - Praise and Criticism

Praise and Criticism

Educational institutions run by the Ramakrishna Mission tend toward being non-profit. They use the Mission's motto of "Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha" (आत्मनॊ मोक्षार्थम् जगद्धिताय च in the Devanāgarī script of the original Sanskrit), which translates as, "For self-realization and for the universal good."

Vidyashala has received praise for its emphasis on personality development, for never demanding donations (dubbed "capitation fees" in Karnataka), for its fee-per-cost model, for the high quality of its teachers, and for offering scholarships to poor and otherwise disadvantaged students. Vidyashala is admired for the guiding presence of Vedantic monks on the campus, including scholars and musicians such as the Swamis Shambhavananda, Somanathananda, Sureshananda, Jagadatmananda, Harshananda, Purushottamananda, Venkateshananda, Paratmananda, Atmavidananda, Nityasthananda, and Muktidananda.

Some critics, on the other hand, have accused Vidyashala of elitism because only about a tenth of applicants to the eighth grade receive admission offers. Some eyebrows were raised at Vidyashala's preference to renounce state support rather than accept government intervention in teacher recruitments. Another concern has been that almost all of Vidyashala's students go on to join engineering or medical programs; few take up the arts, the pure sciences, law, journalism, or management.

Recent visitors to comment on Vidyashala include George Fernandes, the former defense minister, who noted that the institution emphasized character and personality, and A. Jayagovinda, director of the National Law School of India University, who praised its "value-based education."

On December 9, 2007, Vidyashala made news for a tragic reason. H.P. Nagendra, a visiting parent and formerly a municipal councillor in the nearby town of Mandya, was stabbed near Vidyashala's gates by a suspected associate of his late political rival Jadeja Ravi. Nagendra died of the wounds in Basappa Memorial Hospital, Mysore, on December 11. Later, the then Correspondent Swami Muktidananda confirmed that the incident was in no way related to the school.