Spreading over a sprawling campus, Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) is a unique educational institution located at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara, in the secure premises of a Temple. The
school began operations in September 2002 and has since carved a niche for, itself in the field of education. With a student population of about 400, SVN is like a second home for students hailing
from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. On this premise, it serves as a model institution in imparting to its students education, not only in terms of academic excellence, but also in discipline.
Swami Aksharananda, PhD Hindu Philosophy (Univ. of Wisconsin, USA), is the Founder and Principal of the school. According to him, Indian civilization and culture has long held the view that we really cannot teach anyone and that all knowledge is already inherent in the individual soul. The student must then be the focus of learning, not the teacher or the curriculum. With this in mind, SVN has embarked on a philosophy of education that is concerned with the overall development of the student. Swami Aksharananda is of the view that our education system, a legacy of our
colonial past, is severely one-sided in that while it emphasizes Western and the role of the traditional Indian culture inherited by the Indian child. And in this post-colonial society still dominated by
Christian values, Indian children grow up to be not only diffident, but also ashamed of their cultural heritage. Swami says that this puts Indian children at a disadvantage and hampers their
intellectual, emotional and spiritual development. Because of this imbalance in our educational system, the very task of national building is retarded, as evidenced in so many areas of the
society. The SVN seeks to remedy this imbalance with an appropriate cultural input into the school curriculum. “Our values here are universal values and can be followed by anyone anywhere,” a staff in the Administrative department said. That staffer is also a past student of the school where she has been working for the past seven years. The Guyana Inc. Magazine was told that, at SVN, the focus is not just on academic excellence, but also on molding students so that they can move on to live righteous lives. Although SVN is a Hindu school, children from other religious backgrounds are welcomed, and the school respects the religious beliefs of all its students and staff members.
For instance, there are cases when students are given time off to attend Church, Masjid, or certain religious functions. Extracurricular activities are an integral part of the system. Students have access to learning yoga, formal classes in Sanskrit Chants and Karate Boasting of some of the school’s
outstanding performances at regional examinations, it was revealed that every year students from SVN place among the top five in the country at the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC). A total of
20 subjects are offered at the CSEC level. In regards to the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), over 15 subjects are offered to students. Last year, Hiralall, emerged as
the country’s top performer at CAPE, after achieving an accumulated 13 grade ones and three grade two passes.
Hiralall, then 18, attained passes in Units 1 and 2 of Pure Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Information Technology, and Unit 1 of Communication Studies and Caribbean Studies. The brilliant Hiralall was recently awarded the Lester B. Pearson
International Scholarship to pursue studies in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. Similarly, in 2013, Mustapha, a former student of SVN, was among the region’s high-flyers awarded by CXC.
She was awarded for outstanding performance in humanities at the Caribbean Secondary Education
Certificate (CSEC) examinations. That same year, she graduated as SVN’s best CSEC student, earning 15 distinctions. She gained 10 subjects at the CAPE level in 2015. She, too, earned a scholarship to pursue tertiary education in the USA. With an alumnus of over 4,000 students, SVN is committed to giving back to its top performers. With that being said, the school has its own scholarship programme, whereby every year, the top CSEC performer, once interested in teaching at the school, is offered a
scholarship to pursue studies in the USA. So far, six students have benefited from this programme.
One of the features of SVN is its unique emphasis on discipline administered Saraswati Vidya Niketan is a different and unique school.