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6/13/22, 11:59 AM Coimbatore’s Kalvi Thunai: How a retired couple’s zero-fee education centre is giving a bright future to thousands
housands of underpr…
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Coimbatore’s Kalvi Thunai: How a retired couple’s zero-fee education

centre is giving a bright future to thousands of underprivileged children
POSTED ON JUNE 13, 2022 BY PRATIKSHA RAMKUMAR
13
Jun
On a Saturday morning, in a yellowish-orange stucco building on a barren patch of land in the suburbs of
Coimbatore, around 50 children can be seen trying their hand at Sudoku – a logic-based number-placement puzzle.
A teacher has hand-drawn two puzzles on two blackboards and the students try to fill the boxes.
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6/13/22, 11:59 AM Coimbatore’s Kalvi Thunai: How a retired couple’s zero-fee education centre is giving a bright future to thousands of underpr…
These students, all of whom are first-generation

learners studying in classes four to 12, complete
the Sudoku puzzles within minutes.
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After Sudoku, a teacher teaches spellings of eight-letter words by playing Hangman – the game technique that
increases vocabulary. The older children, meanwhile, are participating in a team-building exercise conducted by an
HR consultant volunteering with Kalvi Thunai, a zero-fee after-school centre where underprivileged children receive
education assistance.
“The numbers today are just a fraction of our student strength,” says V Siva Swamy, 73, who along with his wife
Mahalakshmi, started Kalvi Thunai in 2014. A public charitable trust, Kalvi Thunai translates to “education
assistance” in Tamil and it only accepts children from government schools.
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“They are the poorest of the poor in our society,

not being able to afford even a Rs 200 fee which is
how much aided schools charge per month.”
Educating the underprivileged
Swamy says, “We have 150 students, from class four to 12, who study here from 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm. We have 10
teachers on rolls with us. Students from each class have one teacher allotted to them, while students from classes
11 and 12 alone have two teachers—one for science group and one for commerce group”.
Currently, 150 students study at Kalvi Thunai from 4.30pm to 8.30pm after their school. Pic: Pratiksha Ramkumar
The teachers mainly go over the lessons children studied in school, clearing their doubts, explaining concepts again
for better understanding and ensuring that children finish their homework. “Going to school after finishing our
homework and preparing for a test makes a world of difference in how we feel about school and studies,” confesses
the centre’s class six teacher Nandhani.
Nandhani, who studied in a government school,

recalls being beaten up by teachers often for not
doing her homework or getting low marks in
exams, and thus dreading her studies.
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“My parents were poor and could not afford tuition. I did not know how to revise my lessons and sometimes I didn’t
understand what was taught in the class. So I could not complete my homework,” she explains.
Also Read: Raju Kendre: Farmer’s son connecting youth from tribal & marginalised communities with India’s top
educational institutions
Nandhani joined Kalvi Thunai in 2014 in class nine, completed her education with the centre’s guidance, went on to
do her B.Com, and then returned to Kalvi Thunai as a teacher. Nandhani became the first girl in her family to
complete class 12 and get a college degree.
From home to the tuition centre
Swamy says Kalvi Thunai started very small in 2013 after he and Mahalakshmi moved into a retirement home called
Covai S3 in 2010. “Mahalakshmi began teaching our housemaids’ children and it was lovely seeing them improve.
Knowing her passion for social service, we decided to buy a small building and convert it into a free tuition centre
for poor children,” he adds.
The education centre resumed classes in November 2021 after remaining closed during the pandemic. Pic:
Facebook/@KalviThunai2014
Mahalakshmi says they began getting students through sheer word of mouth. “When the number of students began
increasing, we began recruiting teachers,” she says. While five of the 10 teachers have completed their post-
graduation degrees, teachers of junior classes have completed their graduation.
Also Read: Abha Kunj: Zero-cost education gives a better future to Indore’s underprivileged kids
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Soon after starting the centre, Swamy and Mahalakshmi began facing challenges. “Many students come from
problematic households, including an alcoholic or abusive parent. Some wanted their children to start earning,” says
Swamy. 
“We have had to counsel parents and incentivise

children to be regular for their tuitions,” he says.
With tuition being free, there were chances of it not being taken seriously. So, the couple began focussing on
offering holistic learning. “This includes offering children a sumptuous snack after their class, like channa, biscuits
with south Indian snacks or a variety of rice. We have storytelling sessions every Friday and spoken English classes
every Sunday morning to make the subjects interesting. We also have events, fun-based learning, art and craft
sessions etc.” says Mahalakshmi.
Also Read: Listening, teaching & inspiring: How Chennai’s TQI is mentoring students in 30 districts
Kalvi Thunai conducts cultural programmes, field trips, game sessions, and other fun activities along with studies.
Pic: Pratiksha Ramkumar

“We conduct cultural programs, take students to field trips, have game sessions and let them have fun.”
More than 1,000 school children have been

educated at the centre so far. No student has
failed either the class 10 or 12 board exams in the
last eight years.
Focus on building skills
“Our mission is to ensure that children complete their schooling and they join a program focussing on skills,” says
Swamy.
“I advise students to join a skill-based programme rather than a tier-three engineering or art college, which will cost
the poor family anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 70,000 a year, and usually leave the students without a job.”
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With this aim in mind, Kalvi Thunai launched vocational courses in 2017.
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Also Read: To Sir, with Love: Bhopal journalist empowers underprivileged girls through education
They offer CA entrance coaching at just Rs 4,500

for six months with a promise of a full refund if
the student clears the exam on the first attempt.
“For CA foundation we have the support of husband-wife team Sujatha and Sathayamurthy from Indus Valley as
volunteers. We also offer coaching in MS Office, Tally, Aari embroidery and a three-month soft skills program
designed by Bosch using the services of qualified teachers.
The centre offers skill-based training in MS Office, Tally, Aari embroidery and a three-month soft skills program
designed by Bosch among others. Pic: Facebook/@KalviThunai2014
“Many students from the Bosch program, including a girl who could afford only one set of clothes, have now
transformed into smart, well-dressed sales, front office and back-office personnel at top brand showrooms,” says
Swamy.
“Our students are working at Lifestyle, Louis Phillipe, and Pantaloons among other brands.”
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Even during the pandemic, Swamy and Mahalakshmi, refused to give up. “We realised many of our students had 
begun going to work and not attending online classes conducted by the government education department. We
along with our dedicated teachers went house-to-house, offering to take tuitions for our students at their homes,”
says Swamy.
Also Read: From chalk-and-talk to doing-and-learning, how Bangalore’s Mantra4Change is transforming education in
under-resourced schools
“There was a lot of resistance, but we gathered groups of eight to 10 students, made them come to one house in
the neighbourhood and conducted classes,” he recalls.
Two students trained at Kalvi Thunai won the state level boxing championship in 2021. Pic:
Facebook/@KalviThunai2014
From November 2021, the couple said things began to normalise. “Teachers and children began returning in full
strength. Our centre which had become silent, is now bustling with happy sounds of children chatting, laughing,
getting doubts cleared and shouting out answers to quizzes and telling stories,” says Mahalakshmi.
Running the centre, with the current student

strength, costs them Rs 1 lakh a month. 
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“We are on the WIPRO CSR panel, so they give us Rs 5 lakh a year, other regular donors give us Rs 3 lakh a year. The
remaining 3 lakh is usually met through ad hoc donations, interest from our corpus fund among others,” says
Swamy.
In fact, they were one of the first NGOs to get back their 80G exemption certificate when all the NGOs were asked to
reapply.
Also Read: How free education became a passport to London and Rome varsities for underprivileged Kerala boys
On what keeps the couple motivated to try new

initiatives, the answer is simple: “Seeing children
change the very trajectory of their lives.”
Priyadarshini, a class 12 student, who has been coming to the centre for the past six years, recalls how her brother
joined a training program with Titan through Siva Swamy’s recommendation and guidance after completing his
class 12 exams with Kalvi Thunai’s coaching. “I don’t have a father and my mother earns hardly Rs 3,000 from her
job. My brother now sends Rs 5,000 from his monthly stipend to support us. He got into Titan because of Swamy
sir,” she says.
KALVI THUNAI
The teachers too say it feels special teaching in this centre. “I have not seen an NGO-run education centre being
operated with so much dedication and professionalism. The results of this can be seen mainly in the children’s
happy faces, their confidence when they walk in here and interact with us and their marked improvement in
academics,” says coordinator and teacher Sindhu Rani.
Also Read: Bharti Foundation provides zero-cost education to over 40,000 underprivileged kids
“We have hundreds of such success stories,” she

says.
During their free time, Swamy and Mahalakshmi along with the support of Meera Menon who lives in Indus Valley,
offer career counselling to their students of classes 10, 11 and 12 and help them choose careers, and skills or jobs 
that offer growth opportunities.
“There is no dearth of jobs in India, specifically in Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu, but landing a job with scope for
growth and lasting in the job till you see growth is what students need guidance and motivation in. That is when
their life begins to change,” signs off Swamy.
(Pratiksha Ramkumar is a Coimbatore-based journalist, specializing in writing on public health, agriculture and

social issues. She is passionate about telling stories of inspirational people and events.)
Also Read: Sakhi for Girls’ Education: 100% pass, zero dropouts among girls in Mumbai slums
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Watch: India’s child labourers and their missed childhood
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6/13/22, 11:59 AM Coimbatore’s Kalvi Thunai: How a retired couple’s zero-fee education centre is giving a bright future to thousands

 [email protected]  +91 7710089076 SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM Webinar Registration Bengali

Coimbatore’s Kalvi Thunai: How a retired couple’s zero-fee education

POSTED ON JUNE 13, 2022 BY PRATIKSHA RAMKUMAR

These students, all of whom are first-generation

We'll try Ads

Akshaya Patra Open

We'll try Ads

Akshaya Patra Open

“They are the poorest of the poor in our society,

Educating the underprivileged

Nandhani, who studied in a government school,

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Akshaya Patra Open

From home to the tuition centre

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Akshaya Patra Open

“We have had to counsel parents and incentivise

More than 1,000 school children have been

Focus on building skills

We'll try Ads

Akshaya Patra Open

We'll try Ads

Akshaya Patra Open

They offer CA entrance coaching at just Rs 4,500

We'll try Ads

Akshaya Patra Open

Running the centre, with the current student

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Akshaya Patra Open

On what keeps the couple motivated to try new

“We have hundreds of such success stories,” she

(Pratiksha Ramkumar is a Coimbatore-based journalist, specializing in writing on public health, agriculture and

Look up our YouTube Channel

₹ 500 ₹1000 ₹ 2000

This entry was posted in Enterprise. Bookmark the permalink.

Watch: India’s child labourers and their missed childhood

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