Manimegalai Mohan (SSVM)
- Manimegalai Mohan – an entrepreneur who is revolutionising the educational domain in Tamil Nadu. The SSVM Educational Institution that she founded in 1998 started with just 25 students has now grown to accommodate 10,000 students!
- “Great people don’t do different things, they do things differently” – this is true of Manimegalai too. Belonging to the modern era, she was all about modernising education. She broke the convention that good private schools are located only in urban areas. Her SSVM educational institutions are all located in rural areas. Gone are the days when people ran from villages to cities for quality education. Now it’s the cities’ turn to run toward villages.
- The main resource of any educational institution is its teaching staff. Manimegalai has taken great steps to take care of her teaching staff. She has announced free education for the children of the teaching staff. With such perks, every teacher would love their place of employment!
- In every interview of hers, she never fails to say ‘Women should be brave’. The reason is, right from the time she conceived the idea of starting the school, she started facing challenges. A few matriculation schools in the area started campaigning against her initiative. They started instilling fear in people saying, ‘A school with just 25 staff? And that too a CBSE school? They are going to embezzle your money like those attractive chit funds schemes!’ Manimegalai resolved to keep giving her best despite these petty moves against her. Her vision did not stray away from her goal. That is how she overcame all obstacles and became one of the renowned faces in the educational field.
- Manimegalai graduated in Home Science. She was wedded when she was pursuing college education. Her 2 elder sisters settled in America and Bangalore after their marriages. But Manimegalai was attached to Tamil Nadu and wanted to do something for Tamil Nadu. She then planned to start a school in the Sirumugai town of Tamil Nadu.
- There is a general notion among private schools that Government schools can never measure up to the standards of a private school. This is a rumour that exists till date, because many private schools perceive Government schools are a threat to their business. Being different in every aspect, Manimegalai did not fail to impress us with her fresh, uncommon views on this issue too. She stresses that the students of a Government school are, in no way less than the students of a private school. When most private schools bad-mouthed Government schools, Manimegalai saw the bigger picture that all the students are budding geniuses with their own individuality and skills.
- Manimegalai’s success is founded on a strong moral base of conveying nothing but the facts. She never extrapolated figures to earn back the capital invested in her venture or to earn profits. She gave the facts to the parents and let them decide the best fit for their children. She could have easily manipulated the facts to bring in better business, but she knew that was not fair. She did not budge an inch on this policy of giving the plain facts. “Our school transport can operate only till these limits. We cannot stretch any further. If you are ok with that, great; if not you may have to see another school that may suit your requirements better.” – This was how straightforward she was in her dealings.
- When you ask the people of Coimbatore about Manimegalai, the first words would be ‘Very successful lady’. But the successful man behind her success is her husband, Mohan Das. It was Mohan Das who encouraged her to start the school. She kept rising up in the field with the support and motivation he gave her.
- Usually when we see an educational institution, one of the first things we see is whether it provides ‘world-class education’. Manimegalai’s dream is to change the phrase ‘world-class education’ to ‘Tamil Nadu-class education’. She toils harder and harder toward this vision of making Tamil Nadu the world’s capital of education.