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Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Executive Director of HCL Corporation, wishes she could have studied in a Vidyagyan school.
The 31-year-old daughter of billionaire Indian entrepreneur and promoter of HCL Corporation, Shiv Nadar, who is spearheading the school, plans to increase the foundation’s education initiatives to other regions in Uttar Pradesh.
Vidyagyan, the not-for-profit school aimed at children in the 10-18 age group, and who come from impoverished societies will be extended to other locations in Uttar Pradesh.
Another Vidyagyan school is expected to be launched at the next twelve months and its location is being finalised. Currently, Vidyagyan has two schools in Uttar Pradesh — in Bulandhahr and Sitapur, which are impoverished regions.
These schools, which stand on over 50 acres, house about 1240 students and offer them free education. The logic is simple. HCL Corporation, through Vidyagyan and its other initiatives, wants to replicate the kind of work Tatas in India and the Rockefellers or Carnegie Mellon of the US undertook as a part of their nation-building efforts.
They built educational institutions and research institutes that can nurture top talent, which, in turn, contributes towards the spread of education in the country. Shiv Nadar and his family, who control the Trust, have dipped into their own pockets for this initiative. From 2009, the family has spent Rs 1,800 crore and, according to Sauran Adhikari, Senior Advisor, Shiv Nadar Foundation, the foundation spent Rs 550 crore last year. The Foundation has strict standards, and students from municipal and government run schools have to pass an examination to get into Vidyagyan, according to Malhotra.
The Foundation is targeting 200 students from this pool and will bear all their educational expenses.
“This year we plan to reach out to 7 lakh kids,” Malhotra told Business Line . Asked if these initiatives will be extended to other States, she said they may consider it in the future. Apart from Vidyagyan, Shiv Nadar Foundation runs Shiv Nadar University and SSN — a private engineering college.
>venkatesh.ganesh@thehindu.co.in
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