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The Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School is a free school with classes from Balwadi (Pre-KG) up to 12th Std. for poor children from the neighbouring villages. The children are provided with quality education completely free of cost. Even their text books, notebooks and uniforms are provided for. Transport to and from the school is also free for primary school children, while we are awaiting assistance from the government for the older children. We provide value-based education which enables the children to become self-reliant and live ethical lives. The children are exposed to the teachings of Mahakavi Bharathiyar, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda and who remain our source of inspiration.
Some of the special achievements of this school are:
- Consistently producing 100% results in 10th standard and 12th standard state exams. The 10th standard top mark in school was 483/500 and was just 11 marks short of the state top rank.
- Very low dropout rate – 99% of students who join KG go on to complete the 12th standard exam.
- Majority of students finish school with very high percentage.
- All people finishing of school go on to complete higher studies and become employed.
This is all the more meaningful given the rural area in which we are located.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Sevalaya runs eight Community Colleges, offering 10 trades; these provide a ray of hope for rural youth (mostly aged 18-25) who otherwise would not have had access to higher education. By offering free courses, such as tailoring, nursing, bakery, AC and Refrigeration Repair, lab technician, electrician, beautician, carpentry, and various computing courses (including E Publishing and tally.), Sevalaya can lift unemployed and unskilled young people out of poverty’s reach.
As well as the practical training, beneficiaries are also taught soft skills, such as interview etiquette and functional english whilst study at college. Partnerships with companies are also nurtured; industry experts are invited to give guest lectures and real world advice. Additionally, visits, internships, and even placements are an integral part of the colleges, and provide a foothold to many future careers. Regardless of lack of formal education, or personal circumstance, Sevalaya takes pride in helping young people realise their full potential.
Last year we had 1,114 students complete courses at our then five community colleges. 1,066 of them went on to work for corperates or as entrepreneurs. This year, with more courses, more students, and three new collages, Sevalaya is proud to aid even more successful alumni.
LIBRARY
The Swami Vivekananda library consist of over 20,000 volumes of valuable books including the complete works of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Mahakavi Bharathiyar. There are also books on various topics like self-improvement, physical and biological science, computer, engineering and many other topics. The library is open to students of colleges and people in the surroundings villages. The library services are free of charges.
TOURS
Taking the children on tours is an essential part of our programmes, providing a means of education and entertainment. Our children are taken on tour to places of educational importance regularly so that each student gets to attend at least one tour every year. Apart from this, periodic tours are arranged for children, as well as senior citizens, to places of religious and architectural importance. We are grateful to the individuals and institutions who sponsor the tours for those at Sevalaya.