Alumnus donates 30,000 sq ft land worth more than Rs 1crore to TN govt school

THANJAVUR: An NRI octogenarian alumnus of a govt higher secondary school in a village near Thanjavur has donated 30,000 sqft of his land worth more than Rs 1crore for the expansion of the school, where he studied from 1948 to 1953.

The donor, Govintharaju Ponnusamy, 83, is a native of Thirumangalakottai in Orathanadu block of Thanjavur district and is a citizen of Singapore. He studied at the Govt Primary School in Keelaiyur in Thirumangalakottai.“Though I didn’t study beyond Class VI, I wanted to contribute to education. I wanted the children in my village to study well,” said Govintharaju, who contributes to various charities.After his primary education, Govintharaju moved to Singapore in the erstwhile Integrated Malaysia to join his father in his spice business.

He settled there with his family and received Singapore citizenship after its independence. After experiencing prosperity in business for decades, Govintharaju visited his hometown a few years ago and got to know about his school, which is now a higher secondary institution.

There are 213 students, including 85 boys and 128 girls, studying in the school. Around 21 staff teach at the school. The school has eight classrooms, three labs and a headmaster’s room.

“I realised the school needed a playground. It could also have more classrooms if they have more land. As my family’s agrarian land was adjacent, we donated it to them,” Govintharaju said. On Aug 8, Govintharaju registered the land in the name of the chief educational officer of the district and presented the documents to the staff of the school and parents of students during Independence Day celebrations.S Valarmathi, the school headmistress, expressed her gratitude to Govindtharaju.

She said, “Our students are performing well academically. The land donation can improve their educational standards and aid their skills in sports.”The parents of students and villagers lauded their village elder and his family for their generosity. Thiyaga Ilango, president of the school parents-teachers’ association, said, “Land donation of such a scale is commendable. We are confident that our children will immensely benefit from it.”