Laboratory infrastructure getting modernised and scaled up
Students of Sevalaya’s Mahakavi Bharathiyar Higher Secondary School will soon have access to a modern science laboratory, thanks to Cognizant Technologies coming forward to fund the modernisation and scale up of the laboratory infrastructure.
The latest equipment and materials to be available will prove a boon to the children who are mostly first generation school goers receiving quality education free of cost. The Cognizant funding of Rs.8.11 lakhs will create well equipped Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science laboratories, benefiting nearly half of the 2000 students of Sevalaya School, who are in the Middle / High School and Pre Degree classes.
Sevalaya has enjoyed a long association with Cognizant and its leadership including N.Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice- Chairman and Satagopan Madhavan, CEO of the Cognizant Foundation. Both have been regular visitors to Sevalaya.
Lakshmi Narayanan was supporting Sevalaya since 1989. Infact the furniture in the campus guest rooms were donated by him. The Foundation made a donation of Rs 7 lacs to furnish some classes. Rajashree Natarajan, Chief Operating Officer in the Foundation has been a personal donor from the beginning.
Physics, Chemistry and Botany labs were started in 2004, when the strength of of 6th to 12th std students using the labs was 244. Since then, this is the first instance of equipment replacement and upgradation.
The labs have suffered obsolescence and capacity constraints. The user group has grown from 224 to 922 currently. So the size up, with addition of equipment, will greatly benefit the children and will enable them to appreciate the role of science in meeting the challenges of life.
Science labs are an important facility for students to think, learn and exhibit their knowledge and understanding in a very practical way. Laboratory instruction provides training in observation, supplies detailed information, and arouses pupils’ interest.
The complete project would be executed in a month’s time. So, come the new academic year, a brand new lab awaits the children, challenging their curiosity and adding wind under the wings of these young minds to soar and reach, who knows, new regions of scientific knowledge.
