The Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah on September 5, which is also celebrated as Teacher's Day, inaugurated the A.M. Naik School, in Powai, Mumbai. The school has been set up by A.M. Naik, Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro and Padma Vibhushan awardee as part of his personal philanthropy. Shah was accompanied at the inaugural function by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Welcoming the ministers, the school’s founder Naik, said the school had been set up primarily to nurture human values and instill national pride in the new generation. He said: ‘We will equip our children to become talented, accomplished and proud citizens of 21st Century India. This is a school where the quest for knowledge will go hand in hand with a respect for values, and a heightened sense of individual responsibilities.” Hailing from a family of teachers, Naik said he was proud to be carrying forward a near 100-year tradition of service to the community.
Set within the expansive L&T Campus in Powai, the school is a proposed ICSE school. In its inaugural year, the school runs classes Nursery to Grade 8. This will be rapidly extended up to Grade 12 (ISC) in all three streams - Science, Commerce and Humanities.
The school’s carefully curated curriculum allows students the freedom to explore new learning experiences outside traditional definitions. A foundation in curricular and co-curricular subjects is aligned with the New Education Policy – 2020 as prescribed by the Government of India.
The infrastructure is among the most technologically advanced in the field of academics. This includes technology-enabled classrooms, well-equipped laboratories, an Innovation lab to impart new-age skills including Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, a 600-seater auditorium and sports facilities including indoor badminton courts.
A counselling and medical centre tends to the emotional and physical needs of children and a unique ‘Safety lab’ inculcates safe habits. The school will soon commence developments in research and allied disciplines to remain at the forefront of educational instruction.
Personal Philanthropy
A.M. Naik is one of corporate India’s most generous philanthropists. He has pledged to donate 75 per cent of his income to the disadvantaged and the needy. In 2009, he had set up two Trusts – Naik Charitable Trust and the Nirali Memorial Medical Trust.
Naik Charitable Trust
This Trust is focused on providing quality education and propagating skill-building. In addition to the school in Powai, Mumbai, the Trust has set up schools and an educational campus in south Gujarat. The skill-building initiative is affiliated the National Skill Development Corporation. It is among the few which offers untrained village youth the opportunity to find gainful employment or turn into entrepreneurs.
Nirali Memorial Medical Trust
Named after his granddaughter ‘Nirali’ whom the family lost to cancer when she was only two, this Trust aims to offer advanced medical care to the needy. It has set up hospitals in Mumbai and Gujarat. The Nirali Cancer and Multispecialty Hospitals in Navsari were inaugurated on June 10 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
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