OSAAT takes up construction of classrooms and toilet block at Venur high school

Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja laid the foundation stone for the construction of six classrooms and a toilet block at Government Junior College (High School Section) Venur, Belthangady Taluk, sponsored by One School At A Time (OSAAT), a Bengaluru-based NGO, on November 30.

A release from the NGO here said 563 students study in the school with the faculty and members of School Development and Monitoring Committee taking active interest in the overall development of the school. It said the teaching quality is commendable while good discipline among students is maintained.

OSAAT founder and managing trustee Vadiraja Bhatt said though there are several government schools requiring infrastructure upgrade and other facilities, the NGO chooses the one where the local community too actively participates. Only then the support extended by donors through the NGO becomes fruitful, he said.

The NGO raised the required funds for the Venur school from Viyaja and Vasantharam Somayaji from the U.S. and from Meera Rao. It plans to complete the construction, estimated to cost ₹1.25 crore in 10 months.

Rebuilding rural schools

Mr. Bhatt said OSAAT is dedicated to rebuilding rural schools in India and providing them with quality education with an Edtech platform. It was founded in 2003 in the U.S. as One School at a Time Inc., while OSAAT Educational Charitable Trust was set up in Bengaluru in 2011.

Bridging the urban-rural divide in education by providing quality and hygienic school infrastructure, providing its Edtech initiative ODiSI (OSAAT Digital School Infrastructure) for every cluster of 10 schools etc., are OSAAT’s initiatives.. It provides network, devices like tabs for students, laptops for teachers, smart TVs for schools and regular training with AI tools and gamification. As on date, the NGO has reached 10 states and impacted over 1.35 lakh students.