Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia
Sarada Mandir RKMV, Purulia
Location
Purulia, West Bengal, 723147 India
Information
Established	1958
Founder	Swami Hiranmyananda
Principal	Swami Jnanalokananda
Grades	V through class XII
Age range	10 to 18 years
Number of students	735
Medium of language	Bengali, English
Campus size	88 acre
Campus type	Residential
Affiliation	West Bengal Board of Secondary Education West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education
Website	http://rkmvpurulia.in/

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia, India, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission. It is a residential school for boys running under the Gurukul system. It was founded by Swami Hiranmayananda in 1958. The then chief minister of West Bengal requested Ramakrishna Mission to establish an educational institution in Purulia.

The institution runs on the educational philosophy of Swami Vivekananda which calls for a "man making and character building" education. Located in an undeveloped rural area of Vivekanandanagar, the school educates from 5th standard up to higher secondary. This school is one of the best educational institutions of West Bengal. The present secretary of the institution is Swami Jnanjalokananda.

The school stands on an area of 2.25 km². It is located in an underdeveloped rural area named Bongabari(Vivekanandanagar), Purulia, West Bengal. The campus has a large temple containing the statues and imageries of Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and other direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishnadev. There are two school buildings- the junior classes (class 5 to 7) are run in the Vivek Mandir while the senior classes along with the administrative works are done in the Sarada Mandir.

The history of this institution dates back to November, 1956, when a part of 'Manbhum' (then in Behar), earmarked as Purulia, was annexed to West Bengal, as a result of the policy of "Re-organisation of States on the Linguistic Basis." The majority of the population lived a life below the poverty line, the number of educational institutions was few and the literacy percentage very low.

The then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Roy, drew up a programme for the revitalisation of the newly created District of Purulia and made an offer to the Ramakrishna Mission for organising an educational institution in the district. The Mission authorities were undergoing difficulties in getting official recognition of the high school they were already conducting at Deoghar (Behar), where the students had to sit for the Matriculation Examination, as private candidates.