The Doon School, which is completing 75 years this month, is raising funds to provide scholarships to 50 per cent of its students and strengthen infrastructure.
The school, one of the most prestigious in India, has so far raised funds to the tune of Rs 25 crore with donations coming from big corporate houses like Tata, Oberoi, and R P Goenka Group and old students.
The all boys residential school is planning to raise Rs 125 crore in the next three-four years for scholarships and infrastructure. So far, nearly 25 per cent of the students get scholarships.
Doon School Headmaster Dr Peter McLaughlin announced plans for functions to mark 75 years of existence of the school. He said that President Pratibha Patil would be the chief guest for the main function on October 23, which is the founder’s day of the school as well.
Rahul Gandhi is also expected to attend the function. Like his late father Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul too studied at the school albeit for two years only. He withdrew from the school in 1984 due to security reasons after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Other personalities like Vikram Seth, Nandan Nilekani, Karan Thapar and Kapil Sibal would also attend the function at Doon.
The Doon School was founded in 1935 by Satish Ranjan Das, a prominent barrister from Kolkata.
Currently, Dr McLaughlin said the school, having 500 students, is increasing its pan-Indian presence by enrolling students from most parts of India. “We don’t want to be seen as a Hindi-belt school. We are visiting Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata to attract students from most parts of the country,” he added.
