 Vidya Mandir to set up school at Estancia
Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, has announced that it will open a full-fledged school at Estancia, an integrated township on GST Road, adjacent to SRM University, promoted and developed by L&T and Arun Excello. The mega township project will have in addition to the school, 2,000 residential apartments, an IT Park, a shopping mall, a hotel, serviced apartments and a club house.
Bhavani Raghunandan, principal, Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, said Vidya Mandir at Estancia will start by June 2009 and the admission procedure will start by January 2009. "During the first academic year, we hope to begin classes from KG to 7th. The other classes, up to 12th, will be added progressively. The school will maintain a student-teacher ratio of 20:1. The fee structure and facilities will be in line with Vidya Mandir, Mylapore. The school will be affiliated to CBSE. The fee will be affordable since the infrastructure, including land and buildings, would be provided by the developers, Arun Excello," she said.
The teaching
standards will be maintained on a par with Vidya Mandir,
Mylapore, and the system will be set up in place by faculty
who will be on deputation to the new school at Estancia,
Bhavani added.
P Suresh,
managing director, Arun Excello, said, "The total
investment for the school building, land, infrastructure and
other facilities exclusive to the school will be around Rs 20
crore. The total built-up area for the school will be 40,000
sq ft on three acres of land and will have state-of-the-art
facilities. The residents at Estancia will get preference in
admissions to the school, he said, adding that it would also
be open to residents in and around the area.
The school
would pay a nominal rent of Re 1 and had been provided the
space on lease for 30 years with the option to extend it for
another 30 years, Suresh said.
V Srikanth,
secretary, Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, said, "Vidya Mandir at
'Estancia' will be an arm of Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, managed
by a committee under the Mylapore School Society on a
not-for-profit basis. We are sure that Vidya Mandir Estancia
will be a popular school imparting quality education to about
1,000 students every year."
Tracing the
history of the school, C N Raghuraman, correspondent, said,
"In the year 1990, Vidya Mandir, at the request of Bala
Brindavan Trust, supported and lent its expertise and staff to
enlarge and expand the then small school. The same school
today stands as an independent school by the name Bala Vidya
Mandir at Adyar with over 1,000 students. This experience has
given us tremendous confidence to start one in Estancia."
S Hariharan,
general manager, L & T, said, "The construction of
the school building will be completed by 2008 and it will then
be handed over to Vidya Mandir, for the first batch to start
by June 2009."
Suresh added
that Estancia, situated on GST Road, has close proximity to
Potheri and Guduvanchery railway stations. It is easily
accessible by road and rail. Ford and Mahindra World City are
within 5-12 km from this location. The airport, IT Highway and
Sriperumbudur can be reached in about 30 minutes from
Estancia. The first phase of the residential development will
have 700 apartments.
This project
is designed as an integrated township where it is a
live-and-walk-to-work environment. The quality of planning,
the architecture and the landscape design have ensured harmony
both within the site and also its surroundings, Suresh said,
adding that it was bound to become a landmark in this part of
the country.
R Rangaraj
|
