UAE-based Kerala couple to fund school modernising project in Jammu and Kashmir
- 02 Apr 2023
Gulf Today Report
A UAE-based Kerala couple, Faizal Kottikollon and his wife, Shabana, are providing the funds for a project in Jammu and Kashmir that will subsequently see remarkable modernisation of government schools in the Union Territory.
Ten years ago, the couple, through their foundation, ramped up the educational standards of a 130-year-old government school for girls in Nadakkavu, Kozhikode, with a Rs20-crore financial boost. Now the Jammu and Kashmir government wants to emulate the Nadakkavu model, as it has come to be known.
A pact has been inked between the J&K government and the Faizal and Shabana Foundation to this effect. The philanthropic body was set up in the UAE in 2007.
In J&K, the model will be first introduced in a girls’ school in Kothibagh, Srinagar. This will serve as a blueprint for other schools throughout Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the agreement, the foundation will provide funding for the project and be responsible for its implementation, according to Indo-Asian News Service.
Kottikollon seeks to create a robust educational system in the country and ensure that children can show the potential they are capable of.
The foundation will also tie up with major Indian and international institutions to conduct training programmes for the teaching staff and students, said Kottikollon.
Tassaduq Hussain Mir, Director of School Education, J&K administration, said, “Once this model is established, it is the endeavour of the J&K government to replicate it across Jammu and Kashmir.”
Kottikollon is the founder-chairman of KEF Holdings where his wife Shabana Faizal is the vice-chairperson. They set up the foundation because they wanted to help the needy.
The foundation also wishes to tap the leadership skills of teachers and skill development among students.
Over 1,200 government schools, mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have cottoned on to the Nadakkavu model. The model has been introduced in a few schools in West Africa as well.
