A former student of the Subbiah Vidhyalayam Girls’ Higher Secondary School here has donated a property worth ₹2 crore that generates a monthly rental income of ₹58,000 to the 85-year-old school. The donor of the generous contribution does not wish to reveal his or her identity.
“I wish to provide uninterrupted education for underprivileged girl children. I am happy that Subbiah Vidyalayam has accepted to take over the responsibility on my behalf,” said the U.S.-based donor.
Though Subbiah Vidhyalayam Girls’ Higher Secondary School, catering to the educational needs of the underprivileged children, was not one of the leading schools in the port town till a couple of decades ago, the entry of a few academicians such as the former principal of Kamaraj College, the late Prof. S. Selvaraj, into the governing body of the school, has done wonders for it. Tireless and selfless work by an able administration has collectively propelled the school to an enviably leading position among all the government and government-aided schools of Thoothukudi district.
The donor, who had his or her primary schooling here, left the school in Class VI. However, the basic education provided by the teachers of the Subbiah Vidhyalayam motivated him or her to do something significant for the school. When the donor discussed the idea with his or her brother, a Thoothukudi-based businessman, the latter instantly suggested making a contribution to benefit the Tamil medium students of Subbiah Vidhyalayam Girls’ Higher Secondary School.
Going with this suggestion, the Indian-American has donated the property to ensure a monthly rental income, which is likely to go up at regular intervals.
Another alumnus, a software engineer, developed a software for streamlining donations and informing donors of their utilisation transparently.
“The transparent system we have put in place while handling donations has, in fact, attracted more donors,” said R. Murali Ganesan, also an alumnus of the school, who initiated a scholarship scheme by donating ₹6.8 lakh, apart from encouraging his brother R. Kannan and a relative Mangai Subbiah to contribute ₹5 lakh each.
Three toppers of every Tamil medium class in the school are given ₹500-worth of nutrients a month, and the tuition fee of deserving students from poor families is being paid from generous contributions of donors. “We have so far received ₹9.3 lakh to pay the tuition fee for poor deserving students ever since the scheme was launched last year,” said Mr. Murali Ganesan.
The school has also created an endowment fund, the interest from which is being used to give cash awards to students with outstanding academic achievements or those possessing unique talents.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the school gave ₹1,000 each to 201 students’ families as the lockdown had rendered parents jobless. When 20 students could not attend the online classes during the lockdown, they were provided with smartphones to ensure unhindered studies, and another ₹50,000 was earmarked for recharging their mobile phones for data.
