Shanthinikethan Higher Secondary School
The inception of this school was a prick of conscience which told Dr Jacob Cherian to start a school exclusively for the local poor people of Ambilikkai. Against severe discouragement that he would never get sanction for a Govt aided tamil school at Ambilikkai, he went ahead and applied for it, and this was in the year 1972. Unexpectedly, in the same year, permission to start the School for Standards 6, 7 and 8, was handed over to Dr Cherian by one of the Assistant Directors of the School Education in Chennai. The School had three urgent needs in the wake of this sudden approval
a. A qualified Headmaster and Teachers
b. Space for three class rooms
c. Teachers salary until the release of the govt grant
The Bible says that God answers the fervent prayers of the righteous. Mr E Richard, left his permanent BT post at the well-established Dudley Higher Secondary School, DIndigul and took up the job of the Headmaster. His wife was appointed as a Secondary grade teacher of the newly started middle school. The School was started with 75 students. The space in the upstairs of the old leprosy hospital building were converted into class rooms. When the grant from the govt finally arrived after several months, a new building for the School was started at Ambilikkai in the land purchased for the Hospital. In the subsequent year, permission was received to start Standards 9 and 10. The School took care of the needs of children of poor people in the surrounding villages. Several thousands of children have passed out of this school without which, they wouldn’t have the rare privilege of going to any school at all.