Loyola Higher Secondary School, Kuppayanallur
| Loyola Higher Secondary School, Kuppayanallur | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Kuppayanallur, Kanchipuram Dist., Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Jesuit, Catholic |
| Established | 1995 |
| Staff | 33 |
| Grades | 6 through 12[1] |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Enrollment | 770 c. 70% dalit |
| Language | Tamil |
| Website | LoyolaKuppaya |
Loyola Higher Secondary School, Kuppayanallur, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India, is situated 30 kilometres south of Kancheepuram in Uthiramerur taluka. It is a Jesuit, Tamil-medium, coeducational high school that by 1995 had grown to cover grades six through twelve.
History
Jesuit presence in northern Tamil Nadu dates back to St. John de Britto's work in the Chengalpattu area in the 1680s. A century later, the work was interrupted by the suppression of the Society of Jesus. Jesuits returned in 1974.
In the early 1990s the Jesuit Madurai Province determined to direct its resources in support of the dalits in the least developed northern region of Tamil Nadu. The villages of Ongur, Malligapuram, Palliagaram, and Pappanallur were entrusted to the Society of Jesus by the Jesuit Archbishop of Madurai, Casimir Gnanadickam.
Loyola school was upgraded from the parish primary school in Ongur, a close-by village, to a middle school, then a high school and finally to a higher secondary school. The first batch of 59 SSLC Students wrote their public exam in 1997 and secured 71% pass, which had risen to 95.4% in 2007. The school is recognized but not aided by the Tamil Nadu government.[2] It is a co-educational Tamil-medium school run by the Jesuits preferentially for the education of the dalit children of the four Jesuit parishes and more than 20 villages.[3] The compound at Kuppayanallur village includes a hostel for 100 boys and 150 girls. Reports are that they are a very lively bunch.[4]
Activities
Training sessions are conducted in leadership, political awareness, human rights, and social conscientization. Evening study centres are run by the mission for more than 100 villages.[5]
The Good Samaritan Project is sponsored by the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) in the United States. It assists about 230 destitute dalit boys and girls – 80 primary school children and 150 high school and higher secondary. Each child gets Rs. 350 per month as well as school fees, uniform, and supplies. The arrangement is handled through Thanjavur Multipurpose Social Service Society, Diocese of Thanjavur.[6]
Unemployment among X and XII graduates is rampant in the area. To alleviate the problem job-oriented skills and courses are offered in two-wheeler mechanics, tailoring, embroidery, typewriting, drawing and painting, band, and music. This effort is supported by COMIDE, a Salesian agency in Brussells.[7] St. Arulanandar Community College located on the Loyola campus has expanded its offerings to include office automation, office assistant course, electrical and electronics, and computer.
Cultural enhancement activities include folk dance, awareness songs, and street theatre. Scouting is sponsored as a means of forming men for others. Projects include repairing badly damaged roads.
Further donors include Manos Unidas, Misereor, IGSSS, NEG, and Caritas, mainly for construction of buildings.[8] Aksheyaa College of engineering also offers support in the way of textbooks, computers, and transport to activities.[9]
References
- ↑ Canisius College intern. Accessed 14 August 2016.
- ↑ Tamil Nadu government. Accessed August 14 2016.
- ↑ Nevett Fund. Accessed 14 August 2016.
- ↑ USA Intern blog. Accessed 14 August 2016.
- ↑ Milestones. Accessed 13 August 2016.
- ↑ TMSSS. Accessed 21 August 2016.
- ↑ COMIDE Accessed 14 August 2016.
- ↑ Chennai Jesuit Mission: Activities, Projects. Accessed 13 August 2016.
- ↑ Aksheyaa College of Engineering support. Accessed 13 August 2016.
Coordinates: 12°35′50.43″N 79°45′30.84″E / 12.5973417°N 79.7585667°E