THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION VIDYALAYA

The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya had a humble beginning as a school with a single student under a thatched roof in Coimbatore in 1930. The foundation stone was laid by Mahatma Gandhi on 7 February 1934, and the institution was affiliated to the Ramakrishna Mission in January 1935.

Thanks to selflessness and dedication of the founder, Dr.T.S.Avinashilingam, and to the devoted, group of teachers who rallied around him, the institution has grown from a simple school to a major educational complex sprawling over an area of nearly 300 acres, with facilities for education from pre-school to postgraduate and doctorate levels.

The Vidyalaya has in its campus a dispensary, a post office, and a branch of the State Bank of India to serve the student community and also the people in and around the campus.

As envisaged by the great Swami Vivekananda, the institutions in this campus strive hard to impart man-making and character-building education to the youth, and try to inculcate in them self- reliance, self-control, selflessness and such allied qualities that go to develop character.

Secretaries of Vidyalaya

Dr.T.S.Avinashilingam Ayya

1930 – 1986

Swami Tanmayananda

1986 – 1998

Swami Atmaramananda

1998 – 2011

Swami Abhiramananda

2011 – 2017

Swami Garishthananda

2017 – till date

INSTITUTIONS OF VIDYALAYA

I. T A T Kalanilayam (1940): This non-residential co-educational Middle School is catering the needs of students from the local community. About 600 students, mostly from families that are financially weak, study here.

II. Vidyalaya High School (1930): It is the oldest of the Vidyalaya institutions. About 250 students study in Stds. VI to X. Medium of instruction is Tamil. The concept of integrated education for the blind has been successfully implemented in the school for the last 20 years.

III. Swami Shivananda Higher Secondary School (Tamil Medium) (1960): The school has about 700 students in Stds. VI to XII.

IV. Swami Shivananda Hr. Sec. School (English Medium) (1989): This partly residential self-financing school has a student-strength of about 800 in Stds. LKG to XII.

V. Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development (1956): This offers two-year Diploma in Agriculture and Rural Development for students who have passed Plus Two. It is recognized by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

VI. Polytechnic College (Autonomous) (1956): It has a student strength of about 800. Offers three-year Engineering Diploma in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical and Electronics and Information Technology.

VII. Industrial Training Institute (1951): It has a student strength of about 400. Offers skill-oriented two-year Certificate courses in different trades under the National Council for Vocational Training to students who have completed SSLC or Plus Two.

VIII. Gandhi Teachers’ Training Institute (1942): It offers fully residential two-year Diploma in Teacher Education for students who have passed Plus Two.

IX. College of Education (Autonomous) (1950): This has 150 students. It offers BEd, MEd, MPhil and PhD programmes. It is the first College of Education in India to be awarded the status of autonomy.

X. Maruthi College of Physical Education (1956): It has a student strength of about 200. It offers CPEd, BPEd, MPEd, MPhil and PhD programmes in Physical Education.

XI. Faculties of the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute: Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), established in the year 2005, has its headquarters at Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal.

a) The Faculty of Disability Management and Special Education (FDMSE) offers Diploma, BEd, MEd, and PhD programmes in Special Education (Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, and Mental Retardation), and other diploma programmes in Sign Language Interpretation, Community based Rehabilitation and Computer Applications for the Disabled. Students from all over India have been pursuing these courses.

b) The Faculty of General Adapted Physical Education and Yoga (GAPEY) was established in the year 2007. It offers Diploma in Physical Education, BPEd, MPEd and PhD programmes in Physical Education with special focus on yoga, in addition to General and Adapted Physical Education. Short term diploma and certificate programmes in Special Olympics, Fitness, and Yoga are also organized.

c) Faculty Center for Agricultural Education and Research (FAR): It was established in the year 2014. It offers a 4 year B.Sc. (Agriculture) Degree Course.

d) Faculty of Computer Science Applications and Research (FYCSAR): It was established in the year 2014. It offers Integrated M.Sc. (CSA) 5 year program.

XII. Integrated Rural Development Scheme: The Vidyalaya has been rendering rural development service since the year 2002 under the title ‘Vidyalaya Integrated Rural Development Scheme’. Economically backward residents of areas such as Arivoli Nagar,Jeeva Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Pudupudhur, etc. were benefited through various development activities undertaken there. In commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary, Rural Development Work was taken up at Sri Bharati Nagar, a rural area located around 8 kms. from the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, with the combined efforts of the extension service departments of all the institutions of the Vidyalaya.

XIII. SUPPORT SERVICES

Book stall: A bookstore / sales section has been in operation since June 2009.

Printing Press: A modern computerized press takes care almost all the needs of the Vidyalaya.

Hardware Department: With two engineers and one assistant engineer, located in the Polytechnic campus, takes care of the maintenance and repairs of all computers (around 700), printers, scanners etc. in the various institutions of the Vidyalaya.

Maintenance and Repairs Department: This takes care of practically all the requirements of the Vidyalaya, including the construction of new buildings etc.

Dairy and Goatery: About 30 milch animals are maintained to serve hands-on training to our students of the Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Disabled Trainees’ Vocational Production and Rehabilitation Centre: A Notebook Section has been in operation in the Vidyalaya campus since 1992. Besides catering to the needs for notebooks of our various institutions within the campus, the section takes orders on a selective basis from other institutions as well with the primary objective of providing employment to the economically backward and the physically challenged.

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Charitable Dispensary: The Charitable Dispensary of the Vidyalaya caters to a population of around 8000 students and 800 staff members and their families besides a large number of underprivileged people residing in the surrounding areas. In addition to regular general consultation, the dispensary also offers consultation by specialists in the areas of orthopedics, neurology, pediatrics, cardiology, gynaecology, diabetes, skin, asthma, dental, ENT, general surgery, etc.

Ramayana Park based on Indian epics – a project to promote Indian values: The Ramayana Park has been set up with the aim of taking our ancestors’ individual, family, social, ethical, and moral values to the general public. The Park is an innovative and eye catching attempt so where the children can exercise and recreation, and at the same time cultivate a mind to appreciate the Ramayana’s subtle power of developing character, art, and culture.

To know more about Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore visit www.srkv.org.