Shiv Nadar Foundation invests Rs 500 cr in its UP schools

Besides, the foundation incurs Rs 60 crore annually as running expenses on the two schools

Shiv Nadar Foundation, which operates two boarding schools in Uttar Pradesh for the underprivileged rural children, has so far invested nearly Rs 500 crore towards this initiative.

VidyaGyan schools are situated in in Bulandshahr and Sitatpur districts of the state. The foundation, the philanthropic arm of HCL promoter Shiv Nadar, runs classes from VI to XII affiliated to the CBSE Board.

“We have invested close to Rs 500 crore on the two VidyaGyan campuses and created all the necessary infrastructure for the overall development of our pupils,” Shiv Nadar Foundation trustee and VidyaGyan chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said on Thursday.

Besides, the foundation incurs Rs 60 crore annually as running expenses on the two campuses.

The schools enroll meritorious students from mainly government run schools following a stringent three-tier selection process involving the state government. Earlier, it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UP government for conducting the selection procedure in all the 75 districts of the state.

The two academies currently have a combined capacity of about 1,500 students. The first VidyaGyan school had come up in Bulandshahr in 2009, while the Sitapur campus had come up in 2011.

“We receive close to 2.5 lakh applications for admission and select about 200 students on merit,” she said. Several of the students who had passed out of the schools are now pursuing higher studies in reputed institutions, both in India and abroad.

Most of the students hail from households of farmers and daily wagers in rural UP having an annual income of less than Rs one lakh.