Rotary school in Kultali plans CBSE affiliation, adds new floor
Times of India | 24 August 2026
KOLKATA: A new floor has been added to Rotary Vivekananda School & Skill Development Centre in Bamon Mollar Chawk village of Kultali Block, South 24 Parganas, as the institution prepares to expand its academic reach, double its student strength and move towards senior classes with a proposed CBSE affiliation.
The school, built and supported by Rotary, stands in one of the remote pockets of the district, drawing children from villages within a radius of about 10km. Many of them are first-generation learners. With limited access to quality schooling in the area, children are brought to the campus in totos from surrounding settlements.
The project initiated in 2017 and completed within a year with the school up to Class IV starting in 2018, the school now runs up to Class VII. It plans to introduce Class VIII next year, followed by Class IX and eventually Class X. The process of seeking affiliation with the CBSE Board has been initiated.
The school currently has around 570 students, 22 teachers and eight non-teaching staff. With the new floor being added, the institution aims to increase capacity and gradually double enrolment.
The latest expansion is being supported through CSR funding of over Rs 1.5 crore from BC Sen Jewellers. Subir Sen, managing director of BC Sen Jewellers, was present at the inauguration of the new floor and interacted with the students. The total investment in the school project is around Rs 5 crore.
Rotary Metro South, in association with Rotary Calcutta Mahanagar, has been central to the development of the school. Support has also come from Rotary partners in Singapore and Taiwan. Taiwanese contributors helped in the construction phase, while Singapore-based support has helped meet recurring expenses. The school is also supported by IshK Tolaram Foundation, Singapore.
Rotary International District 3291 president Shekhar Mehta and Rotary Calcutta Mahanagar past president Manish Biyani have been associated with the project.
The school began primarily as a Bengali-medium institution but has now introduced English-medium education as part of its expansion plan. Classes up to III are being run in English medium, while Classes IV to VII currently follow Bengali medium with English. Going forward, all new batches will be English medium.
The shift is being supported by teacher training and assessment. Teachers are being upgraded to meet the requirements of the new academic structure and are expected to score at least 70% in English proficiency.
Upasna Chaudhary, who teaches English and exploration and has come from Varanasi, is among the teachers working with the children as the school prepares for the transition.
At the campus, students such as Anamika Sardar of Class VI, Tamim Molla of Class III and Imran Naskar of Class VII represent the community of children for whom the school has opened access to structured education close to home.
During the recent programme linked to the expansion, students recited Rabindranath Tagore’s “Where the mind is without fear”, reflecting the school’s aspiration to create a wider academic horizon for children in the area.
The institution wants to grow into a centre of excellence and be among the best schools in the region. Its immediate focus is on infrastructure expansion, English-medium transition, teacher development, CBSE affiliation and adding higher classes up to Class X