At Vidyakunj, students are top priority. The founder claims that he forgets names of his friends and relatives, but remembers names of each of his students. He would daily interact with the students in a jovial manner and would ensure to give them a positive feedback, so that they have a reason to come to the school. In order to cultivate a mental framework for teamwork, Dr Rathore encourages the students to participate in student organised unions. There are student houses and a Students Union. These are managed purely by students. It is a totally students managed system, there are 4 houses
1. Swasthya
2. Paryavaran
3. Jal
4. Prithvi
The house which is on duty will manage everything. The duties of the houses are:
1. Arranging the assembly of the students
2. Check the uniform of students
3. Commanding the assembly
These houses give students the learning to work in a team and to work in a disciplined setting. Even a student of class III would undertake commanding activity one day.
Every student gets a chance to command the entire school in the assembly.
Every Saturday the school conducts GK competition or Dictation competition.
There is also a shruti lekh competition.
The students are given a pencil and a pen as a token prize on Monday. Last day of every month, there is a meeting of student union. The union invites teachers as observers. The decision of the union is implemented in the same month. There are two special functions on 26 January and 15 August, on this occasion parents are invited to the function. These functions are totally conducted by the students. A teacher has no say in these functions. Anchoring is done by class 4, 5, 6 students and they manage it to the last. The entire management of these events is looked after by the students.
An incident which shows the level of student empowerment in the school where a new student called another student, KALIA. Immediately there was a meeting and decision taken and he had to apologise in the assembly, and it was all managed by the students. “Students conduct plays/dramas. At times they may forget their dialogues but the audience would never come to know about the fumble by the students as they manage it well. Students will spontaneously cook up the dialogues.
A student leaves the school at 2PM. Then he works in a nearby shop for opening jute bags. He works with his mother there and earns about 15 rupees daily He then again comes to the school in the evening to take extra classes. He is one of the toppers in his class in spite of the work that he is doing.
You come and throw your toffee wrapper in any corner of the school and you will find that some or the other student from some class come and pick up the wrapper and put it in dust bin. Students are from poor families and therefore they have to share their resources. In a class, typically, one or two students are able to bring sharpener or eraser, and they share it with all the students in the class. The students consider it their right to share their resources and ask others to share their resources. The students use innovative methods to use their resources. If their pencil is reduced, the students will attach it with some old ball pen cover and use it for writing.
