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New chain of schools set to come up in Kerala

DUBAI - Ruing the lack of economic progress in Kerala, a group of bureaucrats and industrialists have founded a charitable trust to set up a chain of schools that will groom youngsters to take up the future challenge of steering the state to its former glory.

The Alphons and James Charitable Society envisage to set up a chain of schools, called The School of Excellence, all over Kerala, some of which will be wholly residential while others will be a city school, being partly residential. "We believe that it is possible to rebuild a prosperous Kerala if we have the determination. Leadership qualities have to be imbibed in school, right from the time one is a kid, and not later at a management school," said Alphons Kannanthanam, a 1979 batch of IAS Kerala Cadre and currently the Land Use Commissioner of Kerala, at a Press conference at the Admiral Plaza in Dubai yesterday.

According to him, "the educational system in Kerala today produces only half-baked youngsters who have no clue about how to face the world since the only focus of our schooling system is to prouduce percentages and ranks. Neither the parents nor the teachers care whether these children are in a position to take control of their lives or demonstrate leadership qualities in society. The net result is a dreamless Kerala, with the educational system churning out students who have neither wealth and values."

The only solution, Mr Kannanthanam believes, is by putting leadership back as the core issue in education.

"We have to get leadership back into our schools and colleges. Our educational system must produce leaders who are capable of having a dream for themselves and the society."

There are two schools of excellence that are being envisaged to be established by the academic year 2004. The first wholly residential CBSE school will be set up at Vagamon. Fifty acres of land, with spectacular view of ravines, streams and waterfalls, have been earmarked for the Rs65 million project.

Admission for classes I-VII will start later this year with the annual fees for the students fixed at Rs1 lakh. During the second academic year, students for classses VIII, IX and X will be admitted.

The first city school is proposed to be established at Trivandrum in 2004 with a CBSE syllabus. The school will be located at Karakulam, 8km from Kawdiar Junction on the Nedumangad Road.

Thirty per cent of the school strength will be residential while the others will be day scholars. The proposed investment on the school is around Rs50 million.

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