The inspiration of Vidya Bhawan came from Baden Powell’s Boy Scout Movement and Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta’s association with this idea; which he termed as “simple and natural”. The Gandhian idea of Buniyadi Taleem (Basic Education) blended into it, which has formulated a unique experience of education called Vidya Bhawan. The idea of Vidya Bhawan aimed at inculcating in its pupil the understanding and practice of responsible citizenship; and to bring about social transformation through education for an open-minded, just and equitable society. In May 1930, Dr. Mehta had taken his Rovers for annual hike to Kashmir. The Rover Crew was divided into four patrols. On one rainy day at Gulmarg, the Education Patrol met and developed the idea of a new type of school-- its special methods and features. In the same year Dr. Mehta called Shri Kalu Lal Shrimali and Shri Kesari Lal Bordia, fellow scout troopers, to put this idea to practice. A public meeting was convened in December 1930 and a Governing Body was set up. On the morning of 16th January 1931, the foundation stone of the building of Vidya Bhawan School was laid by Sir Sukh Deo Prasad, the then Prime Minister of Mewar State. After much persuasion by Dr. Mehta, the Mewar State had given 4 acres of barren land to Vidya Bhawan. At 7 O’clock, on the morning of Tuesday, 21st July 1931, Vidya Bhawan was ushered into the world!
As per the Constitution of Vidya Bhawan Society, at the time of registration in 1941 under the Society's Registration Act No.VII of 1941, the Founder Members were as follows:
| 1 | Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta | M.A., Ph.D., L.L.B., Bar-at-Law, Udaipur. |
| 2 | Mr. K.L. Shrimali | M.A., B.T., Udaipur. |
| 3 | The Hon'ble Pt. Hriday Nath Kunzru | LL.D., Allahabad. |
| 4 | Sir Sirey Mal Bapna | Kt., C.I.E., B.A., B.Sc., LL.B., Ajmer. |
| 5 | Diwan Bahadur Sir T. Vijayaraghavacharya | K.B.E., Udaipur. |
| 6 | Pandit Rameshwar Dayal | U.P. |
| 7 | Dr. Zakir Hussain | Delhi. |
| 8 | Mr. F.G. Pearce | Gwalior. |
| 9 | Seth Bhagirathji Kanoria | Calcutta. |
| 10 | Rao Bahadur Thakur Raj Singhji | Bedla. |
| 11 | Prof. K.L. Bordia | M.A., Indore, C.I. |
| 12 | Kr. Chandra Singh Mehta | Udaipur. |
| 13 | Rajadhiraj Amar Singhji of Banera | |
| 14 | Mr. Tayab Ali | Bar-at-Law, Udaipur. |
| 15 | Raja Kalyan Singhji | Bhinai (Ajmer-Merwara) |
Vidya Bhawan aimed at greater social mixing and co-education. Some distinctive features were as follows :
Co-education, Non-sectarian, Broad-minded and Global outlook
Vidya Bhawan began as a co-educational school at a time when discrimination against girls and caste distinctions were the norms of the day. The activities and outlook of the school and the people involved were highly egalitarian and forward looking.
Whole day school
Although Vidya Bhawan was only partially a boarding school, it was a firm decision to make Vidya Bhawan a whole-day-school, that is, children stayed in the school from morning till dusk. They had their meals together to overcome the worst dividing factor between castes.
Group system
Group was the family where general development of children was promoted. The group teacher developed an intimate relationship with each child, so they were able to share their thoughts and problems without inhibitions. Groups also organised different activities, such as parents' meetings, social functions, camps, hikes and tournaments.
Chhatra Mandal and Shala Panchayat
The children develop a large measure of self-reliance and some experience in self-government through the Chhatra Mandal (The Students' Parliament or General body) and the Shala Panchayat (Executive Body of Elected Student Representatives).
Technical Section
The school had a fully equipped and functional technical section where children learnt metal work, carpentry, knitting and tailoring etc.
Vanshala (Open Air Session)
10 to 15 days outdoor camp was organized in a natural location. The children were divided into different subject groups called Shrenis, where they worked and learned together different aspects of the region and the community.It was called Vanshala or Open Air Session. An exhibition of the work done and a pageant were organized on the final day.
Anniversary Project
A significant experiment was the Anniversary Project in which a theme was chosen and students chose Shrenis (subject groups) such as literature and culture, social studies, geography, science, art and crafts etc. For a fortnight, Shreni-work was done on the theme. The Project culminated in a pageant at the Anniversary Function and the work done during this period was presented in an exhibition.
Sports
Vast playgrounds were used separately for different sections of the school. The school developed a well equipped Gymnasium. Courts were made for indoor and outdoor games. Students and teams of Vidya Bhawan played at state and national levels.
Shramdaan
Under the Shramdaan (labour service scheme) each pupil was required to put in a minimum amount of physical labour of some sort. This manual work was often a part of some constructive activity or social service. It helped develop a sense of pride and instill dignity of labour.
Laboratories
The school can boast of very well equipped laboratories of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography.
Nursery School
The section of the youngest children was separated from the Junior School. It had its own staff and necessary equipment in order to provide a suitable atmosphere for the children of pre-school age. The school was designed on the educational principles propounded by Madam Maria Montessori.
Vidya Bhawan expanded its area and scope of work in education by opening schools based on the principles of basic education and to cater to the needs of the tribal area; colleges for teachers’ training and higher and technical education; institutions for developmental work such as KVK, center for training of Anganwadi workers, institute for capacity building of elected representatives of Panchayati Raj; a resource center on education and a nature education and interpretation centre. A brief about these Institutions is as follows:
In late thirties Gandhiji gave to the world his new educational concept, which eventually came to be called Nai Taleem. Less than two miles from the parent institution, at Ramgiri in Badgaon block, an excellent site was selected in the midst of a cluster of villages. The school was inaugurated on 23rd April, 1941 by Dr. Zakir Hussain. Niyojit Seva scheme was an important feature of Basic School, by which the children assumed the responsibility of running the school dispensary, a seed store, a library and a shop. In the year 2000, a hand-made paper unit was also set up under the Cellulosse Waste Recycling Education Project with the help of GTZ. The school is now known as the Vidya Bhawan Senior Secondary School, Ramgiri and is affiliated with the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education.
The distinctive value of the work of Vidya Bhawan was being appreciated. To widen the reach and to address the educational needs of the country, a teachers' college was established in 1942. The college prepared the teachers with a modern outlook, who would then build responsible citizens. The college has many researches and several innovative methods of teaching to its credit. VBGSTC is recognised by UGC as a College of Teacher Education (CTE).
The services of Vidya Bhawan were sought in another cognate department on the request of the then Mewar Government. Vidya Bhawan Kala Sansthan (Handicrafts Institute) was established in 1944 and imparted training to craft teachers. This institute is now involved in pre-service teachers’ training of two years under the S.T.C. programme.
15th August 1956, the ninth anniversary of our Independence, saw the birth of Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute. On the report of Dr. K.L. Shrimali Committee, the Government of India entrusted ten selected institutions in the country the task of establishing Rural Institutes. The aim of the Institute was to provide courses in higher education, both general and technical. Presently, Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute has various under-graduate and post-graduate programmes like B.A., B.Sc., B.Com., M.A., M.Sc., M.Com. etc. along with B.C.A. and B.B.M. courses. The College has a research programme and runs a centre for IGNOU.
Vidya Bhawan Polytechnic College started in 1956 with a single faculty of civil and rural engineering. Now, the College offers electrical, electronic, computer science and information technology engineering to more than 500 students. The College has produced socially sensitive and technically competent diploma engineers. It has worked with the village community for technical skill improvement and livelihood enhancement of rural youth. In 2003, Vidya Bhawan Polytechnic was declared the best polytechnic institute of northern India by MHRD.
1956 also saw the opening of the Social Education Organisers’ Training Centre. The Ministry of Community Development decided to start a number of such centers in order to train social education organisers to work in the Community Development and National Extension Services Blocks. The training imparted was so close to Vidya Bhawan’s objective of ‘social change through educational reform’ that the personnel to be trained as SEOs and the staff of Vidya Bhawan were eminently suited to the task undertaken. The Government of India decided to close down all such centers in 1967.
Vidya Bhawan Anganwari Workers Training Centre was established on 16th August 1982 at the initiative of Ms. D.K. Mistry. It functions under the ICDS programme and provides training to the workers and assistants of Anganwari centers. The Center had motivated the trainees, up-scaled their quality of work, instilled the spirit of team-work and equipped them with ideas and methods to approach and benefit the community.
Vidya Bhawan Krishi Vigyan Kendra (VBKVK) was established in 1984 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Vidya Bhawan Society and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). VBKVK aimed to achieve fine tuning of agriculture technologies, training of farmers, rural youth, extension personnel and execution of programmes of national importance. It has strived to make farming an attractive and remunerative business.
Located at Jhamarkotra, 25 k.m. from Udaipur, this secondary school was established in 1987, and worked till 2013, to provide education services to the children of the local tribal residents and mining workers. Since 1991-92, the school became a full-fledged secondary school with financial assistance from M/s. Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd. Well equipped science and computer laboratories and craft workshops were housed in the school. The school took special care of the social, cultural and linguistic background of the students.
As the number of institutions grew, need was felt for an institute to facilitate cross fertilization of ideas. Vidya Bhawan established its Education Resource Center (VBERC) in 1995 and looked forward to sharing of ideas on pedagogy and experiences within Vidya Bhawan institutions and between Vidya Bhawan and other institutions. Gradually, VBERC established itself nationally as a resource centre that worked on the issues of school education. The institution had multiple partnerships with national, state and private institutions and corporations. VBERC worked to raise the level of discourse on education through conferences, seminars workshops and had worked on material development, textbook writing, training, systemic reform and capacity building.
The Institute of Local Self Government and Responsible Citizenship was established in 1997 as a flexible educational center for democracy through training, research and advocacy. It aimed to reinforce confidence in the democratic processes at the grassroots level in the tribal belt of Udaipur through its 'Capacity Enhancement Programme'. In 2010, the Institute began intensive work in 24 Gram Panchayats. Also, it runs a project on 'Empowerment of Elected Women Representatives of Panchayati Raj'.
Understanding the societal demand of an English medium school, Vidya Bhawan started a Public School in 2001 with an implicit faith that all children are educable. Ever since, it moved towards educating children from cross sections of society in a stress free learning environment. VBPS has been recognized by the C.B.S.E. as a Senior Secondary School.
Vidya Bhawan Gandhian Institute of Educational Studies was established in 2008 to further explore the possibility of wholesome education. Currently, the Institute offers a B.Ed program with elements of Basic Education so that the teacher-students can apply them in pedagogical practices and serve to strengthen the local community as well.
Vidya Bhawan purchased a 400-acre beed, a grassland enclosure, near Udaipur at Bhilon ka Bedla in 1956; fenced it and protected it in its natural glory. In the new millennium, 'Padma Bhushan' Prof. Jagat S. Mehta, former President of Vidya Bhawan Society and former Foreign Secretary of India, donated about Rs.60 Lakhs to construct a camping site, which was inaugurated by Nobel Laureate Dr. R.K. Pachauri on 19th August 2009. The 400-acre area, including the camping site, was formally named as the Vidya Bhawan Prakriti Sadhna Kendra (VBPSK). VBPSK is part of the global environmental crusade and is in consistence with Vidya Bhawan’s practice of acting local with a global perspective.