After years of neglect, the first Buniyadi Vidyalaya (basic school) set up by Mahatma Gandhi in Bihar's East Champaran district is to be upgraded to a 10-plus-2 school.

A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made the announcement in Badharwa-Lakhansen village, the villagers celebrated Saturday by offering prayers on the school premises.

Currently, the school is known as Gandhi Adarsh Government Middle School and has students till Class 7.

"We offered prayers to thank the almighty," Ramavtar Singh, a middle-aged villager, told IANS over telephone.

In 1917, Sheo Ghulam Lal, a resident of the village, donated the land to Mahatma Gandhi to set up the school.

Mahatma Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the school Nov 13, 1917, a villager said.

Most of the 391 schools, set up in Bihar to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's dream of providing basic education for all, are struggling for survival.

They suffer from a shortage of teachers and funds.