In a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh, an SMC Chairperson’s decision to act has brought together local youth, parents, village leaders and former residents to transform a government school.
Maitripur, Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh: In a remote village under Diyun Block in Changlang district, Government Upper Primary School, Maitripur, serves around 150 children.
Not long ago, the school was trying to educate them with just one government teacher for eight classes.
There was no electricity or fans in the classrooms. Most children did not carry drinking water to school. There were no digital learning facilities.
During the summer, the classrooms became so hot that children struggled to remain attentive. The previous summer, four students had reportedly collapsed and suffered from dehydration.
For Vivekananda Chakma, Chairman of the School Management Committee (SMC), the situation presented a simple question: what could the community do while waiting for the larger system to respond?
His answer was to start mobilising the people around him.
Five local teachers for 150 children
Chakma first followed the formal route.
He wrote several letters to higher authorities in the Education Department requesting additional teachers. But although assurances were received, additional government teachers did not arrive.
So he called a meeting involving the Maitripur Village Panchayat, SMC, parents and guardians, educated members of the community and village leaders. The meeting was attended by Village Headman/Gaon Burah Shri Krishna Lusan, along with members including Shri Rebati Ranjan.
The group decided that the children could not continue waiting.
The SMC would recruit five local teachers while efforts to secure additional government teachers continued.
Five local young people were selected through a recruitment process facilitated by the SMC. They were briefed on their teaching responsibilities and appointed to support the school.
The community also agreed to contribute ₹2,500 annually per student towards the teachers’ payments.
The initiative did more than provide additional teaching support. It brought educated local youth into the life of their own school, giving them an opportunity to use their knowledge for the next generation of children in the village.
It was the first sign of something that would become central to the school’s transformation: the community was beginning to see itself as part of the solution.
When the heat became a school problem
The teacher shortage was only one challenge.
During the summer of 2026, Chakma raised another priority at an SMC meeting: electricity and fans for the classrooms.
The previous summer, four students had reportedly collapsed from dehydration. Children and teachers were spending hours in hot classrooms without basic ventilation.
But there was no immediate funding available.
Chakma began with the people he knew.
He made a list of 15 potential donors and approached them individually, asking each person to contribute according to their capacity.
Then he tried something different.
He made a video showing the conditions in which the children were studying and shared it with people from Maitripur who were working elsewhere, including abroad.
One of those who responded was Venerable Antim Priyo Dewan, a Buddhist monk now living in Korea who originally comes from Maitripur.
After learning about the condition of the school, he came forward on behalf of Lotus Lantern, contributing 17 fans, two halogen lights, high-quality electrical wires and 10 switchboards.
For Chakma, however, the goal was not simply to find a donor.
He wanted the village itself to take ownership.
Five minutes that raised ₹10,000
During Buddha Purnima, when villagers gathered at a local Buddhist temple, Chakma approached Venerable Bhikkhu Sumana Tissa Bhante and asked for five minutes to speak.
He used those five minutes to describe what the children were experiencing and appeal for support.
Within approximately 15 minutes, ₹10,000 was collected.
As work began at the school, more contributions followed.
In total, approximately ₹29,130 was raised from around 200 villagers, job holders and guardians, alongside material contributions.
People gave according to what they could afford. Some contributed money, while others purchased materials or electrical appliances.
Three electricians were hired to carry out the wiring, install fans and undertake related work.
The funds were also used for other improvements, including a water filter, repairs to desks and benches, wall-colouring materials and clearing the playground.
The documented expenditure came to ₹28,440, leaving ₹690 for classroom decoration.
The numbers tell one part of the story.
The more important story was that people who had never previously contributed to a common school initiative were beginning to see the school as something they could collectively improve.
A bottle of water can matter
Another issue was drinking water.
Only two or three students in almost every class regularly carried water bottles. Chakma estimated that around 80% of students did not bring water to school.
Many of their parents are farmers or labourers, including families engaged in shifting cultivation. Some children also did not have someone at home who could consistently prepare water for them.
Given the heat, Chakma felt that access to drinking water was essential.
A 30-litre water filter was installed at the school. Broken taps were repaired and two tap controllers were installed.
It was a relatively small intervention, but one that addressed a basic need affecting children’s daily experience at school.
A smart classroom—but first, electricity
Chakma also wanted children in Maitripur to experience digital learning.
When he learned that the Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust was supporting digital facilities in government schools, he approached a representative directly in Diyun and requested support for Maitripur.
The school received one digital Android Smart TV and two solar-based batteries for power backup.
But there was a problem.
The school was still not electrified.
The technology had arrived, but the room could not function as a proper digital classroom.
So Chakma took up the next challenge.
He helped mobilise resources to wire the classroom, install switches and switchboards, and install fans, making the room both functional and comfortable for students. The solar batteries provided power backup for the digital facility.
The equipment could now actually be used.
For many children in Maitripur, it was their first opportunity to experience digital technology as part of their classroom learning.
It was a recurring pattern in Chakma’s approach: he did not stop when something was provided. He looked at what was preventing it from being used and tried to solve that problem too.
A village—and its diaspora—giving back
Perhaps the most striking feature of the effort has been the range of people who became involved.
Local youth contributed their skills as teachers.
Parents and guardians contributed towards teacher support and school improvements.
Village leaders participated in the process.
Skilled workers contributed their expertise.
Villagers and job holders contributed money and materials.
People who had moved away were contacted.
And people living abroad were invited to reconnect with the needs of their home village.
The story of Venerable Antim Priyo Dewan Bhante is particularly significant.
Although he now lives in Korea, he responded when he learned about the conditions at the school in the village where he grew up.
His contribution represents more than financial or material assistance. It is an example of giving back to one’s place of origin—and of how community ties can survive even when people move thousands of kilometres away.
From a school project to a community effort
What has happened at Maitripur is not simply a list of infrastructure improvements.
It is an experiment in community ownership.
The School Management Committee became a platform through which different kinds of resources could be brought together.
The community could contribute money.
Young people could contribute their education and time.
People with technical skills could contribute their expertise.
Former residents could contribute from afar.
External organisations could provide resources when someone from the community took the initiative to approach them.
And parents could participate in decisions affecting their children’s school.
That makes the effort potentially more sustainable than a one-time donation.
The community contribution towards the five teachers creates a mechanism for continuing support. The involvement of local youth creates a pool of people who understand the school and its children. Solar power provides backup for the digital classroom. The water filter and repaired taps address ongoing needs.
Most importantly, people have begun to develop a personal stake in the school because they have contributed to it.
Beyond the title of SMC Chairperson
Vivekananda Chakma’s story is ultimately about what can happen when a formal community role becomes a platform for action.
An SMC Chairperson can raise concerns, participate in meetings, engage parents and work with the school and education authorities.
Chakma did those things.
But he also wrote letters and followed up when teachers were not appointed. He helped recruit five local teachers. He raised funds. He created a video to communicate the school’s needs. He reached out to people working abroad. He spoke publicly to the community. He approached external organisations directly. He helped mobilise electricity, fans, drinking water and digital infrastructure.
And he did something perhaps more important than any individual intervention: he brought people together around a shared responsibility for the school.
He did not transform the school alone.
The village did.
His role was to initiate, connect, persuade and keep the effort moving.
The transformation that cannot be photographed
Today, around 150 children have access to additional teaching support.
The classrooms have electricity and fans.
Students have access to drinking water.
The playground has been cleared.
Desks and benches have been repaired.
A smart classroom is functioning with solar power backup.
But the most significant change is harder to photograph.
It is the idea that the school belongs to everyone.
For a remote village in Changlang district, that may be the most important resource of all.
Because a school can receive a fan, a smart TV or a water filter from outside.
But a culture of ownership has to come from within.
At Maitripur, one SMC Chairperson decided that the children could not afford to wait for every solution to arrive.
He asked what the community could do.
And the community answered.
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