Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader inaugurated the Somaiya School on May 31st in Mumbai. For the ceremony, children performed the folk Maharashtrian ‘lezim’ dance to entertain the audience. Dalai Lama commenting the performance, discussed the richness of ancient Indian knowledge and traditions.
Speaking about the importance of education, Dalai Lama was all praises for the school, “Institutions like this should co-ordinate, discuss and exchange their experiences with one another for growth and development. There is a great need for educational institutions to be developed with the ethos of persevering and promoting Indian culture."
The newly inaugurated school is located among lush greenery and stands on a 3 acre plot within the 65 acre of the Somaiya Vidyavihar Campus in the Mumbai suburb. The school has two wings, one the pre-primary section along with resource room, learning centre and other facilities. The school boasts of a student –teacher ratio of 10:1.
"The focus of our school is to build the child's self esteem by giving an environment that encourages them to good academics. We use international methodology, whilst inculcating Indian Values. We are the only school that will teach various languages such as English, Marathi, Sanskrit, Hindi and French from the young age beginning Grade 1," said trustee Amrita Somaiya.
