THE FOUNDER AND SENIOR PRINCIPAL OF THE EVERWIN GROUP OF SCHOOLS SHARES HIS INCREDIBLE JOURNEY ON THE PATHWAY TO LIFELONG LEARNING
Teachers play a very important role in our lives. They shape our thoughts and mould us into better human beings with every day as we learn from them the basics of life and how the world goes, without which the point of education falls insignificant. True education is not limited to passing exams or earning degree certificates. It lies in character development, which our teachers have been doing since the beginning of time.
And our Chennai is indeed lucky to have Dr. B. Purushothaman, who is hailed by teachers and students alike for the lives he has been touching for decades now. The founder and senior principal of Everwin group of schools, Purushothaman is the idol of youth today through his relentless service to the field of education for over 30 years.
Born in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, Purushothaman always sought to read more and know more. Such was his quest for education that he wanted to soar high and high, setting an example for those who weave dreams of pursuing academics. A student of Govt high school, Vedanthangal and Hindu higher secondary school, Maduranthakam, he went on to do B.Com. from R. V. arts college in Chengalpet. But that was not the end point of education for him. The young man wanted to continue his studies and proceeded to accomplish one degree after the other. He enrolled for the Master of Commerce programme at DG Vaishnav college in Chennai in 1985. During his early years, Purushothaman realized he had a passion for teaching. Right after completing his masters, he started out as a post-graduate teacher in commerce and English at PS Matric higher secondary school and Bharat senior secondary school respectively. This was during the late 1980s.
It was in 1991 he took a break from teaching to get back to academics. He did his B.Ed, followed by MA, M.Phil, B. L., MBA and M. Sc. one after the other. Then he went on to become a renowned name in the academics fraternity of Tamil Nadu.
As Purushothaman embarked on his teaching journey, which included establishing a coaching center named as Subham study center at Perambur in 1990, he was well-received by parents and students alike for his excellent teaching techniques and amiable personality. The coaching center was a tremendous success, and he utilized the money he had earned through his hard work for setting up The Everwin matric higher secondary school in Kolathur. Today the school, which has established its presence in Mathur, Perambur and Maduravoyal too, boasts of 20,000+ students learning and growing to face the bigger challenges in life. The 56-year- old teacher, who has numerous awards to his credit for his selfless service to the society, believes in humble beginnings and good work ethics, as far as imparting quality education is concerned.
Purushothaman has gone above and beyond his professional duty for the upliftment of the society at large. He has made a difference not only through teaching but also through his writings. The teacher has authored several books and penned several articles that have been published across English and Tamil media.
REDEFINING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION….
As the principal of the Everwin school, Purushothaman has taken several initiatives which have taken the school several leaps ahead of our time. He has introduced daily training and test which helps students identify their weakness, work on those areas and constantly improve themselves. The principal’s other innovative approaches to education include a rewards scheme. This is a simple and yet rewarding approach towards making students keep track of the improvements they have made at every exam they have written in an academic year. He has also initiated special tuition programmes for the slow learners. The benefits from those extra classes after school hours sure carry over to learning in school environment and an average student does not feel lost or alienated. Power periods are held twice a week. These include group discussions, mock interviews and personality development.
The beloved principal, who has touched hundreds of lives through his outstanding social work outside school, also recommends fee waiver for the less-advantaged students. In order to make students realize that school has an easy-going atmosphere and is the best place for education, Purushothaman addresses students every day during the assembly. He feels regular parent-teacher meetings are crucial for not only academic but also holistic development of a child. He meets parents every day, and in 2021 alone, he has spoken to 6000 plus parents about their concerns, and provided solutions. Purushothaman conducts orientation programmes for teachers on a regular basis and guest lectures for students’ benefits.
WORKING FOR A CAUSE….
His social uplift has mostly been through providing free education to students from the vulnerable sections of the society. He has conducted spoken English classes for underprivileged students of govt schools in Kolathur and Perambur, receiving only Re. 1 from them as guru datshana.
Besides, he has donated smart boards to several govt schools in Chennai. He has been providing free guidance and study materials to class 10 students of govt school in Kunnangulathur for the past 18 years. What truly brings the widest grin on his face is perhaps their excellence at board exams. Purushothaman is also known for his consistent support towards women’s self-help groups. He meets them regularly and empowers them with his knowledge. Through these meetings, he encourages women to be financially responsible for themselves. The great teacher also extends his support to the inmates of an old age home every year.
He has conducted a legal aid programme for the welfare of transgender people of Chennai, in association with Tamil Nadu legal services. Among the many objectives of the programme was distribution of free ration cards to the participants. Purushothaman has also been helping people with employment. He provides monetary assistance to students who excel in sports. He has been holding pulse polio vaccination camps in Kolathur for the past 25 years, and he offers halls for free for all public meetings in the region.
Purushothaman has conducted campaigns on no-smoking and safe Diwali, apart from running several health awareness programmes on swine flu, bird flu etc. He runs a neighbourhood newspaper called “Nearby Times” on his own initiative and gets them delivered to households in Kolathur, Perambur, Mathur and Madhuravoyal. He used to bring out a directory on Kolathur which he distributed among the local people. Once he gave away 35,000 copies of ‘Basic English’ to mothers of kids who attended the Kolathur and the Perambur branch of the school . The idea was to better the communication skills of the students.
TIME TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Everwin Group of Schools, Chennai encapsulates a remarkable journey in the world of academia. With its inception in the year 1992, the school has paved the path for thousands of students and gave them the inner strength to dream and stitch it into a reality. Education is free from all the biases and prejudices that prevail in our society, and Dr. B.Purushothaman, Founder and Senior Principal of the school have successfully imparted knowledge and values to their students.
When times are obscure and despair hovers, a famous saying ‘when one gate shuts, another one opens’ should strike our mind as a way to cultivate optimism. We all once in our lives hit the bottom and head for a blame game as per our convenience. Whereas, reversing the situation at the earliest should be our approach.
It was during the pandemic when most minds turned creative and gave birth to their ideas. One such ideation was brought about by the founder Dr. B.Purushothaman, of starting the first YouTube channel with the name EVERWIN SCHOOL. Before understanding the concept behind this channel, we need to know the intent behind embarking on this social media journey.
FUTURISTIC APPROACH FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
With the world turning tech-savvy and seamlessly integrating with the colours of social media, it becomes necessary for the schools to pull up their socks and spread the word of wisdom in their way. We all are familiar with the current scenario and complying with it is the only suitable option. Therefore, the school came up with three-minute videos titled- “Therefore Dear Parents” a way to communicate with parents and help them evoke values, etiquette, and ways to lead a healthy and mindful life amidst the chaos. These videos are extremely versatile and diverse in their approach because the high-spirited principal chose not to sit and shoot in one place, infact, he travelled various parts of India not only to draw the attention of the viewers but to highlight the rich and reverberating heritage of our country. This breaks the monotony and instills excitement.
The videos are uploaded at sharp 10 A.M. on every Sunday, and on the 12th of September will complete 100 weeks of curating 100 videos. Now, talking of the hidden concept, these videos have touched upon almost all the principles that parents and teachers together need to inculcate for their child’s holistic upbringing.
UNREMITTING ENDEAVOURS
By far 98 topics have been discussed innovatively and the school will continue to garner and grow in its objective. Just by looking at the thumbnails of the videos, one can figure out that the principal has taken up the onus to work towards raising the children uniquely and successfully and make them well-equipped to face challenges of any degree. In one of the videos Dr. B.Purushothaman said, “Plan your work meticulously and execute it neatly.” Staying organised and ready with deliverables on time are a few traits that can make an individual an achiever in their respective fields, and school being the abode of learning, it gets equally important for kids to learn and adapt to such techniques and excel. These requirements are made comprehensive both for parents and students through these distinctive videos. Ranging from being thoughtful about humanity, aiming to strike a balance between studies to extra-curriculum activities, managing stress, and learning key mantras to lead a happy life, the principal has talked about it all.
Such exceptional initiatives to teach the students are commendable. So, before growth feels unlikely, tune in to the world of wisdom and work with your children to make them become better people and responsible citizens of our country.
ACHIEVEMENTS…
A timeline of the amount of work he has done for the masses over the years reflects why so much love and admiration find their way to this man of substance. The yeoman service he has rendered to the society has brought him this due recognition. He won the TNC Kalai Mandram’s best teacher award in 1993, the state government’s Dr. Radhakrishnan best teacher award in 2012, the lifetime achievement award given by Lion’s club of Madras in 2012, the best writer award from Bharathiya Tamil Ilakiya Peravai in 2011, the best writer award from Kavithai Uravu in 2011, the lifetime achievement award from Indo-Nepal economic forum in 2014, the MGR Ratna award in 2018 among many other honours and distinction. Purushothaman has appeared in several news channel debates and public meetings by virtue of his knowledge and work for the betterment of the society. The teacher maintains a Youtube channel of his own that has 14.3K subscribers till date. Through his philosophical weekly talk “Therefore dear parents”, he shares some of his most powerful messages on human relations, positive mindset, character development, importance of one’s roots, narrow shackles of mind like jealousy, peace and prosperity, Thirukkural etc. It is only because of the dedication of teachers like Purushothaman that children, the future of our society, become truly educated and we look forward to a fairer, more egalitarian society.
