Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Indian yogi and founder of Isha Foundation, formally opened the first 'Apollo Isha Vidya Rural School' in Aragonda village, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.
Among the dignitaries at the inauguration were Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, board members of Apollo Hospitals Group and Isha Foundation and many other national officials.
The Aragonda Apollo Medical & Educational Research Foundation, a philanthropic organization established by Padma Vibhushan Dr Prathap C Reddy and the ISHA Foundation had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Chennai earlier in February with a focus on numerous laudable objectives in the domain of education and healthcare. A core goal of the MoU was to start a primary school at Aragonda and Chittoor and to subsequently scale it up to a junior college level.
Speaking at the opening of the first Apollo Isha Vidya Rural School at Aragonda, Sangita Reddy, Executive Director, Operations, Apollo Hospitals Group & Chairperson, Apollo Philanthropy said, "Our children are our most precious assets for the future of our nation. At Apollo, one of our primary goals is to nurture their potential with high quality education and healthcare. Therefore, the environment and focus of the Apollo Isha Vidya Rural School has been designed to ensure that learning is a joyous experience for the children, allowing them to blossom to their fullest potential".
Aragonda is the birthplace of Dr Prathap C. Reddy and with a desire to mark a new dawn in educational models, Dr Reddy provided his personal land and funded the construction of the school building as his contribution to society and for the people of Aragonda and Chittoor district.
The Apollo Isha Vidya Rural School, a primary school, will follow the Andhra Pradesh State Board syllabus with English as the medium of instruction. The school is starting with 120 children from LKG to 2nd standard and will eventually scale up to 12th standard with two sections each, providing quality education for about 1,200 students.
The school will extensively use digital content and special methodologies to teach English and other subjects, to augment the curriculum. Besides the curriculum, the school will strive to provide all-round development of the child with emphasis on yoga, sports, arts & crafts and environmental education to the rural children while preserving their local culture. In later years the school will add a multipurpose hall to provide vocational training as well.
ISHA Foundation will support this initiative by giving its management services to build the institution as a centre of excellence in school education in Andhra Pradesh. Scholarships will be awarded by the management to the underprivileged children on a case to case basis.
Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, currently runs 7 rural schools for under privileged children in the state of Tamil Nadu under the name of Isha Vidya Rural Schools. Over 4,000 students are studying in the 7 Isha Vidhya Rural Schools.
