NMDC’s CSR investment turns Dantewada school into a long-term education project for conflict-affected children

New Delhi: A decade-long corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment by NMDC is helping sustain a residential school in Dantewada that provides education and residential support to children from communities affected by Left-wing extremism (LWE), highlighting how corporate funding can support long-term social infrastructure in conflict-affected regions.

Aastha Vidya Mandir, also known as Aastha Gurukul, in Jawanga’s Education City currently accommodates around 1,300 students from Class I to XII. The state-run institution is administered by the Chhattisgarh government, while NMDC's CSR support has funded its infrastructure and continues to meet a significant share of its operating requirements.

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More than half of the students are estimated to have been directly or indirectly affected by LWE-related violence. The school gives priority to children orphaned due to such violence, children whose parents were involved in the insurgency and students from conflict-affected areas of Dantewada and the wider Bastar region.

For NMDC, the project represents a CSR commitment extending beyond the construction of a physical campus. The company's support covers continuing operations, with annual operational expenditure alone estimated at around Rs 3.5 crore.

The school was launched in 2013, with NMDC providing CSR funding for the development of its infrastructure. The campus now includes separate residential facilities for boys and girls, technology-enabled classrooms and an auditorium with a capacity of more than 1,000 students.

“The operations are funded by NMDC CSR and administration is with the state government in the Education City. The classrooms are equipped with smart-screen systems to teach students using state-of-the-art technology,” Principal Ravindra Panigrahi said.

The institutional arrangement gives the project a distinct public-corporate structure: the state government oversees administration and education, while NMDC's CSR funding supports infrastructure and ongoing operations.

The company’s continuing financial commitment also means the CSR intervention is not limited to a one-time capital expenditure. Operational funding helps maintain the residential and educational ecosystem required to accommodate students through their school years.

The school follows the CBSE curriculum, with smart-screen systems incorporated into classrooms. For students arriving from remote villages, including areas with limited access to educational infrastructure, the residential model provides access to schooling, accommodation and technology under one campus.

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Admission under the special priority criteria is based on official documentation. Police certification confirming that an area has been affected by LWE activity and FIR records relating to the death of a family member are among the documents considered, according to Panigrahi.

The school's intervention also extends beyond academics. Students affected by violence receive counselling from experts, while IAS officers and other accomplished professionals interact with students through lectures and other programmes.

The approach reflects a broader shift in the role of CSR in areas affected by conflict — from supporting individual facilities to creating institutions capable of delivering sustained social outcomes.

For NMDC, Aastha Gurukul has therefore become a continuing CSR investment in human capital in one of Chhattisgarh's historically conflict-affected regions. For the state, the partnership provides a residential educational institution operating within a government-administered framework.

More than a decade after its launch, the campus has grown into a school serving around 1,300 children, many of whom come from families and communities affected by conflict. Its longer-term impact will ultimately be measured not only by the infrastructure created through CSR funding, but by the educational and professional opportunities available to students after they leave the campus.

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