Samved School formerly known as A. V. Education Society held its golden jubilee year celebrations in the city recently. The students of the school performed a docu drama on the life of their school’s founder Mrs. Ambuja Venkataraman called “Ambujavalli”
The school was started in a very humble manner in a rented building in Jayanagar VIII block, Bangalore in 1967. The founder, Mrs. Ambuja Venkataraman was very modern in her outlook and much ahead of her times, entering career routes uncommon for women in those days. Her career started with Tata Airlines (now Air India) as an Air Hostess. She later went on to act in the South Indian stage & films, married an engineer Mr. T. R. Venkataraman from Madras, before embarking on her true vocation in life, which was education,” shared Mrs. Ameetha Chari, her daughter & trustee of A V Educational Society.
“The objective of this institution has remained consistent over the 5 decades…to provide quality education to people from all backgrounds. This is what has been the vision of Mrs. Ambuja since she herself grew up realizing that education was available only to the privileged class. Mrs. Venkataraman envisioned how education could bring a change in the lives of people and inspire youth into achieving their dreams & their aspirations. With this aim, she started a kindergarten & primary school in Jayanagar VIII Block. Her passion, zeal & enthusiasm enabled her to pursue her ambition of providing quality education to individuals from all walks of life,” Mrs. Chari added.
“The school has always had seats reserved for disadvantaged students, much before the inception of the Right to Education by the Government of India. We are a not for profit institute and keeping with our founder’s vision & wishes, have always educated deserving students at no cost or at concessional rates as suited to the parent’s financial abilities. We are proud to share that many children have been provided free education along with books & uniform,” said Ms. Sandhya Siddharth, Director, Samved School.
“We are currently rated amongst the top 25 state board schools in Bangalore South. Many of our alumni hold high degrees & excellent jobs all around the world. We are especially proud of these students because education has made a difference in their lives. The vision of our founder continues to permeate through to this day,” Ms. Sandhya added.
Talking on the need of the hour in education, Mrs. Chari added “Education in the 21st Century has changed vastly but India seems to lag behind in several areas. The biggest challenge that lies within our education system is quality, which is generally theoretical in nature and lacks a practical aspect. When students pass an exam, they forget all the things learnt due to a lack of practical experience. A lot of emphasis is given to scoring high marks in the exam rather than acquiring quality knowledge, thus it becomes a rat race. Practical knowledge & skill based education is still far away from the reach of students studying in schools & colleges.”
Talking on the varied initiatives, Ms. Sandhya averred, “The School has integrated e – learning into its teaching & learning format. Smart Boards have been installed in all our classrooms and we have successfully used this platform to make learning more interesting, fun loving & interactive.
Knowledge & learning is a global phenomenon and we realize the importance of being in touch with the outside world. The school has partnered with The British Council’s International Schools Award (ISA) giving its curriculum an international perspective. We also partnered with schools around the globe and under this program, international festivals have been celebrated, dances & cultures learnt & exchanged. This project gave our students the opportunity to have a real time perspective on the lives & cultures of people in other parts of the world.”
“Quality education is still above the reach of an average individual in India. At Samved, we ensure that the school does not differentiate when people seek admission based either on their financial or educational backgrounds. We are proud to have children from families wherein the child admitted is the 1st generational learner in the family. Neither do we send the academically weaker students away when in their final years of high school, to enable us to show that we obtain 100% results in our board exams, unlike some institutions. Our endeavors will continue on this chosen path for many more decades to come,” added Ms. Chari.
