Sir Balraj Anand Silas
Being a dynamic student, Sir Balraj Anand Silas qualified various
examinations. He had various career avenues open in front of him
including the IRS and the Reserve Bank of India. He chose the
latter and began his service in 1981. He served the Reserve Bank
of India for thirty-five years and retired as an officer in 2016.
In 1981 he came to Kanpur, here he met Ms. Veena Singh, daughter
of a preacher (whom we now know as our principal ma’am). They were
engaged on 27th June, 1982 and were married on 18th October, 1983.
Theirs was a very happy and fruitful married life. Then they had
children – Misha Ma’am and Yash Sir – and the life went on. He was
a wonderful father to them and taught them many things by his
example.
Soon the couple recognised their higher calling of serving the
society by alleviating the woes of the weaker sections of the
society with the radiant light of education. So, with a vision to
privilege the need to provide accessible, affordable, high quality
education to the pupils of south Kanpur, the couple with the Grace
of God, founded the first unit of Mother Teresa Mission Higher
Secondary School, Kidwai Nagar in 1995 and the second unit in
2016. It was his vision that pushed the fledglings from their
nests, allowing them to take flight. Accompanied by a plethora of
skilled educators, he laid the foundations of the spirit of
self-less service and creativity that our schools continue to
diffuse into the society. Head Sir created a 'sense of Purpose’ at
the very start. The staff and the children steadily increased in
number.
The planning and development of these schools were done under Head
Sir’s direct supervision. He was the brain behind the brains.
Under his patronage these institutions flourished. After his
retirement, he served the institutions as the Chairman of the
Mother Teresa Education Society.
Today our institution stands a class apart from all others only
because our Head Sir right from the outset, with his far-reaching
vision, raised the bar to the highest levels. He was indeed a
pioneer who not only nurtured and served the institution with
utmost commitment and dedication, but also inspired all those who
worked with him to follow his footprints with the same enthusiasm
and vigour.
Dr. (Mrs.) Veena Silas
Every child, whether rich or poor, has the right to quality
education.
The above line has been the guiding force for Dr. Veena Silas all
through her years as an educator. Her father had established a
school in Kanpur. As a child growing up in a family of an
educationalist, she realised that when earning a livelihood and
taking care of the members of the family becomes a primary matter
of concern in one’s life, education stands a little or, very
often, no chance of pursuance. For the underprivileged people,
quality education is perceived as a high-priced luxury, and this
negative outlook continues on with every new generation.
Therefore, from those early formative years of her childhood, she
decided to work for providing quality education to the children
from the poor and middle class backgrounds. She wanted to start a
school where she could bring children from all walks of life –
from the richest to the neediest, from highly educated families to
first time school goers.
As she started Mother Teresa Mission Higher Secondary School in 1995, she realised how ordinary it was to follow the model of other posh schools in the city that insisted on admitting kids whose parents were affluent and well-versed in English. Taking a stance away from the league, soon, she started admitting students from the poor and middle class backgrounds. And now, while the school is open to children from all backgrounds, the underprivileged are never turned away. Today, there are more than 4000 students studying in the school. The Mother Teresa Mission Higher Secondary School is now 26 years old and over these years the school has tried its best to not to drift away from the aim to set up a scalable model to provide good quality school education to children from poor and low-income families. The school firmly believes that no child seeking an education should be turned away. We believe that education is the foundation for a better future and that hope and equal opportunities should be given to all children.