AHAL Educational Charitable Trust Beginning in Cumbum, Theni District Trust deed registered 2026 · Reg. R/Cumbum/Book-4/46/2026
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NSKP Higher Secondary School buildings and ground, Gudalur
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Where we stand today
DoneTrust deed registered, 2026. PAN and bank account in the trust's name. Three-year plan agreed. First scholarships awarded to the first students at NSKP, Gudalur, on 16 October 2026. See the day →
DoingPlanning the next programme with the Head Master of CPU, Cumbum. Writing the selection criteria. Setting up the payment process to schools. Setting up yearly scholarships for the top three in the Class 10 and Class 12 public examinations.
Not yetFirst scholarship day at CPU. More schools to follow.
Latest · 16 October 2026
A trustee addresses NSKP students on the school ground

The first scholarships, awarded at NSKP

Students selected by the school received AHAL's first scholarships, in the school where Sri V. Thulasiraman was Head Teacher. The day opened with a floral tribute to him and Srimathi Ramani Thulasiraman.

Every year: scholarships for the top three students in the Class 10 and Class 12 public examinations. Next: more schools will be selected. Trustees have met the Head Master of C.P.U. Hr. Sec. School, Cumbum, to plan the next programme. CPU page →
Photos and report → Reported in Dinamalar, 17 October
Framed portraits of V. Thulasiraman and Ramani Thulasiraman
Sri V. ThulasiramanHead Teacher, NSKP. Economics and English Srimathi Ramani ThulasiramanTeacher of Mathematics
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The spirit of AHAL

The one gift that keeps on giving

Mahakavi Bharathiyar weighed every good deed a person could do and set one above them all: opening the door of learning to a child who has nothing. He was not saying anything new. He was giving voice to one of India's oldest convictions.

Our traditions call the gift of knowledge vidya daanam, the highest form of giving, because it cannot be spent, stolen or taken away. Thiruvalluvar called learning the only wealth that never perishes. The guru is honoured as the one who drives out darkness, and every Tamil home still lights a lamp at dusk.

AHAL takes its name from that lamp. A small flame, passed from teacher to student, lights a whole life, and that life goes on to light others. This is the spirit we carry forward, one child at a time.

கற்றல் · வளர்தல் · செழித்தல் Learn. Grow. Flourish.
AHAL poster with Mahakavi Bharathiyar's verse on the value of teaching
Verse by Mahakavi BharathiyarDownload to share →

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Recognition comes first

We begin with prizes for students who do well in their schools. It is how we get to know the schools, the teachers and the students before any longer commitment is made.

Effort, measured against themselves

We support students who put in the effort and keep improving on their own record, not against a fixed mark. Orphans, children of single parents and families under financial strain come first.

Through to a qualification

₹10,000 a year towards fees, uniforms, books and bus fare, paid directly to the school. It continues through to a degree or a trade qualification, for as long as the student keeps progressing.

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2026 – 2029

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Phase one

Lay the groundwork

  • Bank account and payment process to schools
  • Selection criteria, written down
  • A working arrangement with NSKP and CPU
  • Who decides what, and how it is recorded
Phase two

Recognise, then select

  • Prizes for students who do well
  • Teachers put names forward
  • A volunteer verifies each name within 15 days
  • Selections recorded, with reasons
Phase three

Support and stay with them

  • Five students, then fifteen, then twenty-five
  • ₹10,000 a year each, paid to the school
  • Progress reviewed with the teacher every year
  • A field note every month

We will write down how students are chosen before we choose them. And we will take on more students only when the ones we already support are doing well.

For schools and teachers

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We ask for judgement, not paperwork. At the end of each year, the teacher's assessment is how we know the support is working.

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Where we begin

Each school has its own page for photos, events and its alumni. More schools join as the work settles. A school is listed only once it is working with us.

For alumni
Under consideration

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We are shaping this with the old students' associations of NSKP and CPU. If you studied at either school and would like to be part of it, write to us.

Mentorship
One alumnus, a small group of students, over a whole year.
Knowledge sessions
What your work actually involves, and how you got there.
New horizons
Careers a student in Cumbum may never have heard named.
For teachers, families and neighbours

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TRUSTEE PHOTO
Mr T. Vivekanandan
President
TRUSTEE PHOTO
Mr A. Haider Ali Khan
Vice President
TRUSTEE PHOTO
Mrs Vasanthi Babu
Secretary
TRUSTEE PHOTO
Mr P. Suruliappan
Treasurer
Trust deed and registration ↓ Qualification criteria ↓ Child protection policy ↓ Photography and consent policy ↓ Audited financial statements ↓
Appears once students have been selected
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students selected
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schools we work with
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disbursed so far
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still with us after a year
PORTRAIT
One student, photographed with written
consent. Name used only if the family
agrees.

The first student

Who she is, what she wants to do, why the teachers put her name forward, and what we actually paid for. One student told properly is worth more than a hundred counted.

Read her story

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[date]

The first conversation with a school

Who we met, what we asked them, and the one thing they said that we had not expected. Two hundred words is enough.

Next month

Awaiting the next entry

The grid holds one note as comfortably as twelve. Nothing here breaks while the column is thin.

Next month

Awaiting the next entry

Publishing on a rhythm matters more than publishing at length.

From 2029

Once the work holds, it widens

Three years of criteria, named students, payment records and field notes become the foundation for what comes next.

Supporting a student

₹10,000 a year, paid to the school, with a receipt and a yearly progress note.

Wider geography

More schools, then more towns, using the same criteria and the same way of staying with each student.

CSR partnerships

CSR-1, spend utilisation and reporting — written for a corporate foundation.

Where they went

The first cohort after school. The only evidence that finally settles the argument.