A school in MP where all students are ambidextrous

In a country where parents often encourage kids to write with one hand, but a private school in Madhya Pradesh is making children write with both hands and the school is hugging international limelight for this exception.

Meet the students of Veena Vandini school in Madhya Pradesh who have some special skills of writing with both the hands and they can do it with elan.

These 300 students belong to 1 per cent of the world’s population which is ambidextrous, all thanks to their headteacher.

“I was travelling in a bus when I read in a magazine that President Rajendra Prasad would write with both hands. This inspired me to try it. Later, when I launched my school at my native village, I tried training the students,” said VP Sharma, a retired Army soldier, who founded the school in 1999.

“We began training students from Class I and by the time they reach Class III, they were comfortable writing with both the hands. Students of Class VII and VIII can write with speed and accuracy. Further, they can write two scripts simultaneously, one with each hand,” he added.

Fifteen minutes in each period of 45 minutes duration are devoted to writing practice in the school and it’s a daily practice.

“Students also know several languages, including Urdu,” Sharma said.

“It was basically the ability to simultaneously write in two different scripts that drew South Korean researchers to my school around two years ago,” he said, adding, “They did an extensive study on students’ ability to concentrate on writing.”

The students at Veena Vandini can write the same word in two different languages and this has made them extremely comfortable with more than one language. But they haven’t just become masters at languages, their concentration power has also increased.

Sharma said their unique dedication to handwriting led South Korean researchers to visit and study the pupils two years ago to find out more about ambidexterity.

Sharma said that it’s only students in Class VII and VIII who are extremely skilled at writing with both their hands with speed and accuracy.

Apart from this, there are many other benefits to being ambidextrous. Those who can use both their hands also use both sides of their brain and tend to be creative. Being able to use both hands can come handy especially while playing a sport.

According to researchers, this is one of the many benefits of being ambidextrous. However, it takes time and practise to be ambidextrous.