Background

The Sarada Vidyalayam school was founded on July 14, 1992 by Dr. Chandra Sekhar Sankurathri with the objective of providing free education to children in rural Kakinada

Kakinada

Kakinada is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located east of the state capital, Hyderabad. It is also the headquarters of East Godavari district. It is nicknamed "Fertilizer City" , "Pensioner's Paradise" and "Second Madras"...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, where illiteracy and poverty are commonplace. The school is funded by charitable donations raised by Dr. Chandra and the Sankurathri Foundation

Sankurathri Foundation

Sankurathri Foundation was established in 1989 by Dr. Chandra Sekhar Sankurathri in memory of his wife Manjari, son Kiran and daughter Sarada, who died in the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland on 23 rd June, 1985....

and receives no financial assistance from the Indian government or the parents of its students.

Teaching

While the school follows the State syllabus, the teaching methodology used is different from the methods employed in conventional schools. With a student-teacher ratio of less than 1:10, teachers can monitor the progress of each child. Besides providing an education, the school provides free bus transportation for kids who don't live within walking distance.

The school provides a lunch, which for many of the children is their only meal of the day. The school provides medical and dental checkups (including medicines) and Hepatitis-B vaccinations. Everything from books and schoolbags to uniforms and shoes is provided to students at no charge. The school gives two sets of uniforms to each child.