Toppers in Patiala District come from this rural school that also attracts 495 students from Patiala city.

Class 10^th& 12^th results for the academic session 2012-13 of village ReethKheri Akal Academy has set the rural women & the village abuzz; with as much 6 girl students from the academy scoring a perfect 10 point CGPA score in the 10^th class CBSE examination, outshining the boys to attain the top spot in the toppers list this year.

The most stunning part to notice is that none of the students of Akal Academies are subscribed to the tradition of taking tuitions; in fact the responsibility of support & guidance beyond schooling hours is fulfilled by the Academy staff, within the school itself, even if it has to be working beyond the stipulated hours. Teachers always ensure there is no need for students to look for expensive tuitions or external guidance; they believe that course text books alongwith focused training is sufficient to crack through board examinations with flaring scores.

Whilst girls Sheetalpreet Kaur, Sukhvir Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur , Jashanpreet Kaur, Ustat Kaur & Narinder Kaur took a clean sweep at the 10^th board exams, class 12^th’s medical student Ramandeep Kaur  attained top spot amongst medical science stream students across village with her  score of 94%, that remained unbeatable.

Amongst boys rural Rupinder Singh from non-medical side showed the magic obtaining 94.8% aggregate score in the 12^th CBSE board examinations to take the top spot amongst all boys at the village.

“All this is possible with the blessings of Almighty, our generous Patron Baba Iqbal Singh Ji, President of the KalgidharTrust, Baru Sahib under which the Akal Academies are running & the guidance & cooperation of the members & volunteers of the organization. We assure to only get better in future”, told the Principal Ms. Shaminder Pal Kaur of the Akal Academy Reethkheri.

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 2nd Oct ’13

A rural girl student of village Gomti’s Akal Academy received title of BAL RATAN 2013 at an exclusive district level inter-school competition held at Pushp Institute, Pilibhit, UP, which marked the final ceremony for the “BAL RATAN Hunt 2013”, an event organized by “Kabir Shanti Mission” every year.

Gurpreet Kaur , a class 12th student of Akal Academy Gomti, alongside 2 more students from the Academy viz. Mahaveer Singh & Ashish Kumar registered a forceful presence at the event for the institute, competing with full gusto, facing fierce competition amongst equally talented participants from some of the top-notch schools of the district, like C.L.V.P Sarasvati Vidya Mandir, Shishu Bihar Inter-college, etc.

“Kabir Peace Mission”, an organization that seeks to develop positive thinking amongst students & youth by aspiring children with teaching of Saint Kabir to make them good citizens, organizes “BAL Ratan Khoj” every year to hunt for the brightest of the students to support & inspire them for a better future.

The ‘mission’ selects several schools from a particular district & holds an Essay writing competition to select participants for the competition, where the winners are invited to compete at district level, where they undergo a General Knowledge Test in the 2nd round. Then on the basis of merit 11 students are short listed for the final event, where all the finalists are provided topics to debate upon & give their speeches.

Out of the top 11 finalists, spots 1, 4 & 6 were acquired by our Akal Acade my Students by Gurpreet Kaur(1), Mahaveer Singh(4) & Ashish Kumar for the final debate. After a round of copious debate & majestic speech performances by the supremos, the selectors had a tough time rating the performances for the top 3 BAL RATANS of 2013; after giving a mindful consideration & taking up a fair amount of time, the verdict was given – Akal Academy’s Gurpreet was awarded 2nd position while C.L.V.P Sarasvati Vidya Mandir’s Amit Raj Singh won the 1st position with marginal difference wherein Shishu Bihar Inter-College Bilaspur’s Rohit Shankar settled 3rd.

Gurpreet Kaur, being the only female amongst the awarded winners, stole the show with her impressive & powerful speech; her joy knew no bounds as she also got an opportunity to be photographed alongside Chief Guest Mr. Gangwar, President Nagar Nigam, Pilibhit & the selection Board.

A beaming Principal Mrs. Rangbeer Kaur said “Kudos to Gurpreet Kaur & other students for bringing honor to the name of the Academy at an event of such repute & esteem”!

~Ramandeep Singh
~New Delhi, 30th Sep’13

Proving their mettle, the rural students from village Dhotian’s Akal Academy, who received an in-house training on Karate skills at the Academy, went on a knock-out spree at the All India Karate Championship event recently held in New Delhi at Guru Harkrishan Public School’s India Gate Campus.

The Karate Kid team of Dhotian surprised everyone with distinct agility & enormous thrust that was visible in all the rounds of each combat. Youngest Armandeep Singh & Amritpal Singh remained at top on the boards & bagged Gold Medals for the school in the Junior 25-30KG category wherein on the other hand Vishalpreet Singh & Prabhjot Singh gave a head on fight to city students & received silver medals in the sub-junior 31-35Kg category for their exceptional display of endurance & power during the championship.

Another 8 of the juniors settled with bronze medals after giving a fierce competition to hardcore contenders who came from different outstation cities & villages to represent their schools for the Karate Championship Title.

In total the team brought 2 Gold, 2 Silver & 8 Bronze medals for their Akal Academy, making their way to the Wall of Fame across at Akal Academies, leaving a loud roar through a subtle message reminder to the city folks – “Make No Mistake of understanding Rural India, for Spartans too were never big on amenities. “

Sub-Juniors bringing Bronze Medals for Akal Academy Dhotian :
Sukhmeet Singh
Smreet Singh
Prabhdeep Singh
Taranjit Singh
Jarmanpreet Singh
Amrirpal Singh
Bachitar Singh
Ramandeep Singh

~Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 28th Sep ’13

This time, it’s village Bhairon Khurd’s Sikh boy Karandeep Singh, a baptized “Amrit-Dhari” , who at 17, determinatively marched his way into serving Indian Army, scoring All India Rank 30 in the NDA (National Defence Academy ) intermediate entrance exam & selected as a CADET in 2013-14 batch to receive specialized 3 Yr Army training in Kharagwasla, Pune and 1 yr at IMA Dehradun for purpose of serving The Indian Army.

India Army offers 2 intermediate examinations NDA & TES wherein TES seeks candidates to serve the army as Engineers; Karandeep Singh independently prepared, appeared & cracked through both the examinations, he scored a strong AIR 74 in TES exam also, but chose to serve the Army as a Soldier.

Young Karandeep Singh has no special family background; coming from a rural village, his childhood & family situation have had no exceptions. His farmer family had been living through the gloomy conditions of financial instability, negative output & declining profits, etc that have been pervading the country’s agrarian societies over the past 2 decades; draining the life out of farmers especially in the Northern Rural belt, where farmer suicides remain trending.

We also learned from Karan’s father that Karan has always been a reserved person, even as a child, his interests were atypical. He was never too keen on playing or going outside much, he was a close observer & analyst of things around; perhaps that is what kept him occupied & that is how his determination & motivation developed.

Besides academics, Dharmic Programs & Faith were the only things that have kept Karan’s keen interest throughout all these years, which remains intact; though his family is not baptizes like him, but his father revealed that his family has always been graced to have remained clean off alcohol; they in fact have been pure vegetarians!

Further revealing about his early days during schooling, his dad told that Karan has always remained an independent child ever-since he was little, his only focus was on education he received at the school & his only time-pass was cricket & football, that too indoor, at house veranda with his young brother Jyot-Prakash. He was always so engrained with the studies at school there was never any room, space or even need for any tuitions.

His father also reveal, that in early years of his childhood itself, Karan told his father that observing the given circumstances & stand of agriculture in India, he is decided about not following agriculture & is aiming for becoming a Big officer, that holds prominence in the country.

Karandeep Singh has been a bright student all through his academics. With a keen interest in studies and co curricular activities, Karandeep has never let us down. When I came to know about this great achievement of his, I knew somewhere that this kid had all the capabilities to be where he is now. I wish him all the luck and I am sure he will do the best; said Mrs. Pawan Sahni, principal, Akal Academy Gomti.

Currently, Karandeep is taking training as a CADET under NDA regime; he was travelling when we got a chance to speak to him for a few minutes, as mobiles are prohibited otherwise during the training program. We thank & salute his father for giving his time to us for telling so much about Karan’s journey & bringing up a courageous & determined child in conditions so tough!

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 26th Sep ’13

The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib believes that rural health; especially amongst children is a critical aspect & a binding element for sustainable & inclusive Rural growth.

In fact, a true Rural transformation is only possible, or let’s say, is only meaningful, if healthy well-being amongst is also assured & ensured for the Rural folks alongside education. Ill-health can well impale a person’s abilities & render a person incompetent to take benefit of the opportunities that education offers, not only it can hamper growth but also break the financial stability of an entire Rural family.

Medical Check-Ups are routinely undertaken across all Rural Akal Academies to ensure that young rural children stay healthy & have a steady & smiling growth. Child Specialists maintain a record & keep a close observation upon both basic & critical health aspects including eye-sight, height & weight ratio, signs of any other developing problem/issue, etc to identify any lurking abnormalities or symptoms, so they can be treated or eliminated with care, in time.

A beaming Ms. Satvinder Kaur, Principal, Akal Academy, Phaphre Bhaike informed us “The last Medical Check-Up session was held here with child Health Experts counseling & examining all school students. And with the grace of God, the Doctors were able to detect a few cases that needed immediate medical treatment. I would endeavor to have Medical check-ups annually.”

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 26th Sep ’13

In the wake of growing personal insecurity, where danger is lurking at every nook & corner of the Nation, young rural kids at Akal Academies are being prepared to combat all adversities.

In an initiative to tackle the ongoing menace created by crimes, especially against women of the country, Akal Academies are resorting to fundamentals of the Sikh faith i.e. of being prepared to fight for protection, for self and others to ensure that the Truth & Good prevail over the sinful & bad in the society.

Young boys and girls at Akal Academies, alongside carrying their routine study and spiritual prayer sessions, are also being trained to be combat-ready. Specialist Karate experts have been appointed for the task of ensuring that self-defense, protection & safety of women is fostered as the number One priority amongst the youth.

The concept and inspiration behind this, is not new to the followers of Sikh faith; its connection, roots back to the ancient theory as professed by Guru HargobindJi, who has put forth the blended concept of Miri (Temporal Power) &Piri (Spiritual Power) for the followers of the Faith, which was further consolidated by the 10th Master, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who gave it the concluding shape explicating the artistry at the battlefield against Mughals, while fighting for the protection of Faith of others & safeguarding their free will to follow a Faith of their own choice, when the rulers tried to convert everyone to Islam by force.

It was then when he termed the followers of this newly-bred faith as “Sikhs”, who will live lives of learners of Almighty, who shall fight for protection of Faiths that may exist.

The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib endeavours to instill confidence in its students to be able to face the perils of modern life.

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 25th Sep ’13

Montek Singh, a bright student from Akal Academy Ratia has been invited to study at the University of Colorado Boulder’s CASA (Centre for Astrophysics & Space Astronomy) to pursue a specialised 5 year program on Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences. News covered in Ajit National Daily Newspaper.

As Lil’ Kiratjot Kaur Khalsa takes her little steps towards her school, the village watches her ‘Tall Walk’

This is not just because she is another little Rural enthusiast taking up schooling, but because she is the first Inaugural student of the newly come up Akal Academy at the village, which is first of its kind & the only one to provide Scientific as well as Gurmat value-based education to Rural students.

There is more connected to young Kiratjot Kaur Khalsa than just being the first student of the school; she alongside her mother have been playing an instrumental role since long before initialization of school services, the keen-team had beenvoluntarily going Door-to-Door reaching to each & every child-bearing family of the village, to educate, encourage & promote admission for the Rural children of the village at the school.

Her tiny steps alongside bold efforts of her mother have surely paved a concrete road that is set to put the village onto its true transformational mode through the big leaps little Kiratjot Kaur Khalsa takes every morning, walking tall towards the entrance of the Akal Academy.

We salute the courage, generosity & the philanthropy exhibited by the young mother-daughter team towards contributing & serving the society with such honest will to bring a transformation.

~ Deeksha Singh
~ New Delhi, 20th Sep ’13