New Era Senior Secondary School (NESS)

Selvi, a teacher at Last School, grew up in Auroville. Her studies in political science took her to Chennai, but it's her frisbee prowess as part of India's national Ultimate Frisbee team, that became her ticket to travel the world.

Even before India entered one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, among the first measures it took to stop the spread of COVID-19 was to shut down schools across the nation.

It was a profound shock for the community when it was announced that four bodies of one family – Sundar (Sundharamurthy Murugesan, 40 years old)), his wife Mahesh (Maheshwari (35)) and their two daughters Kirthiga (17) and Samichsha (13) – had been discovered in their house in Auromodele on 17th November.

It is not often that you see a man and a woman employee working together as a team in an Auroville forest or garden. But Elumalai and his wife, Surya, are different.

“In this place, children would be able to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with their souls; education would be given not for passing examinations or obtaining certificates and posts but to enrich existing faculties and bring forth new ones.”

During the guest season in Auroville, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the number of workshops, classes and seminars that are on offer. With notice boards overflowing with announcements of programmes, Auroville does look like “the place for an unending education.”

One offering I had always wanted to make to Auroville was the Ganga Yatra experience. Why? Firstly, I have always had a fascination with the Himalayas and the Ganges.

Kuilapalayam and Edayanachavady, two of Auroville’s neighbouring villages, are in the process of being cleaned up. Over the years, many local schools have created strong eco-clubs which are building environmental awareness by doing environmental programs.

The New Era Secondary School (NESS) has been granted approval from the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) for the introduction of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Computer Science to the curriculum with effect from April 1st, 2014.