C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation is celebrating the 20th year of its ‘Each One Teach One’ scheme on Friday, Nov 24.
The chief guest is N. Ravi, director of The Hindu. The funds will be handed over to the principals of Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls School, Rani Meyammai Girls Higher Secondary School and P. S. High School (North).
The scheme was first started by the grand daughter of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, late Shakunthala Jagannathan in 1997 with a view to educate poor girls. Residents were invited to sponsor a child for a minimum period of six years, from Std. VII to XII.
Initially, Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls’ Higher Secondary School was selected for this project. 50 girls were selected in 1997 (to commemorate 50 years of India’s independence). All the girls completed the basic qualification of Std. X in 2001, and 41 completed Std. XII in 2003. Today the education of 278 students of this school is sponsored by the foundation.
In 2005-2006, the project was extended to include 6 boys from P.S. High School (North), Mylapore. 20 boys are availing of this facility today.
In 2009-2010, Rani Meyammai Girls’ Higher Secondary School were enrolled in this scheme. Today, the education of 109 girl students of this school is sponsored by the foundation.
The number of sponsored children has increased annually. Today, 535 children receive scholarships, some through donors and many directly from the foundation.
The C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation does not charge or retain any money towards administration or service charges. The foundation’s contribution is the administration and management of the
project, all done free of charge.
