managing
trustee
Mr. M.A.M.R. Muthiah
Mr. M.A.M.R. Muthiah is the Group Managing Director of the Chettinad Group. As the Managing Trustee of Chettinad - Sarvalokaa Education, International School, he leads the team from the front towards providing a holistic, value-based education and empower individuals to lead and to serve.
Hailing from the illustrious industrialist Chettinad family, known for its philanthropy and magnanimity, Mr. M.A.M.R. Muthiah Ayyappan evolved as a dynamic industrialist with varied exposure to the field of education and various other industrial sectors post his management education.
Chettinad - Sarvalokaa Education is an international school built with the vision of offering a progressive teaching and learning environment for children. The current challenges we face in the ever changing global, economic, technological, social and political contexts require a different set of skills, habits of work and attitudes. His vision is to provide a holistic, value based education and to prepare individuals who are empowered to lead and to serve. I am proud and delighted to welcome you to join us on this unique journey.
Driven by the personal motto of striving for excellence he approaches all his endeavours with integrity and lives the family mission of Strive, Save and Serve.
Group Managing Director
management
committee
Mrs. Geetha Muthiah
Director and Trustee
Mrs. Geetha Muthiah is the wife of Mr. M. A.M.R Muthiah, the Director of Chettinad Group of Companies. She is a visionary and takes care of the Education and services wing of the Group which includes schools, colleges and other service-oriented organizations.
Mrs. Trayee Sinha
Management representative
Ms. Trayee Sinha is the Management Representative of Chettinad – Sarvalokaa Education and a member of the School Management Committee. With over 2 decades in education, Ms. Trayee Sinha is the Vice President of Chettinad - Niyogaa, the Education and Service division of the Chettinad Group. She started her career as a Montessorian with a goal of making a mark in early childhood education. Ms. Trayee joined a premium corporate chain of pre-schools, where she ascended to National Coordinator. Her aspiration towards structured, standardized and value-based learning was instrumental in driving her to establish and expand corporate brands in schooling across India. In an era of rapid changes in the education world, she has been a curriculum developer, trainer, mentor with leading brands of education before joining the Chettinad group a decade back. She believes that learning is at its best when it is hands-on and that an inspiring educator understands the learning style of the child and facilitates a joyful and active learning environment. Ms.Trayee Sinha in her current role with the Chettinad Group, heads the functional aspects of all the education and service entities under the division.
Dr. Gayathri Deepak
Advisor
Dr. Gayathri Deepak is an educationist deeply committed to best practices in education. She has worked in various roles including as a researcher, college lecturer, teacher, teacher trainer, academic advisor and whole school leader. As part of the work she currently is engaged as Director of Sri Chetana, she functions as an Educational Consultant and Advisor to schools. She has worked with CIE International Curriculum for more than 15 years and is a consultant for schools with other curricula too. As a whole school leader, she worked in a highly reputed international school in the Middle East, which is a CIE Centre offering the Cambridge International Programs from Years 1 to 13, a member school of CIS and is also accredited by NCA (formerly CITA, now Advanc-Ed). She chaired the committees for the CITA/NCA and CIS Self-Studies done by the school. Students of this school secured world ranking, not to mention national level and Province level rankings, in IGCSE and A-level exams, during her tenure. Her work in the international context has enabled her to reach out to teachers from more than 20 nationalities and students and parents from over 30 nationalities, including people from the Indian sub-continent, Middle East, Far East, Europe, USA, Australia and Africa. She is passionate about empowering educators to become reflective practitioners and empowering children, adolescents and young adults to realize their true potential and blossom into responsible, caring, empathetic individuals. Dr. Gayathri is committed to spreading the message of liberal education and enabling educational institutions and educators to foster social, emotional and ecological intelligences and creativity, and build the skills of collaboration, communication, and critical thinking in students.
principal
Ms. Gowri Sivashankar
Ms. Gowri Sivashankar comes with over 25 years of experience in the field of education across national and international curriculum schools. An M A. M.Ed. M.phil, She started her career as a teacher of English and is certified in Methods and Materials of teaching English by EFLU. She joined ICFAI group as a Professor of English and later became the Regional Head- Academics. She susbsequently joined Velammal Education Group to head the training division for over 7 years. She has created and delivered training programs for children in language skills and for teachers in the areas of teaching pedagogy, ELT, soft skills and employability skills. A passionate researcher in progressive learning systems and an advocate of child-centered pedagogy, she has travelled widely and participated in study programs nationally and internationally to understand different teaching learning approaches including Waldorf. She joined Chettinad Harishree as the Principal in 2018 and has since then worked closely with the leadership team to establish a holistic learning environment that nurtures learners to become compassionate responsible global citizens.
academic
director
Ms. Kiran Merchant
An experienced Cambridge International teacher with over two decades of experience in Education and child well-being, Ms. Kiran has lead a reputed Cambridge School as Principal for 12 years. With a postgraduate degree in Economics and B.Ed from the prestigious Central Institute of Education, Delhi University, she has a rich experience in teaching subjects ranging from Environmental Management, Economics, Business Studies at IGCSE A level to Global Studies. A certified French Language teacher from Alliance Francaise de Madras, she has also taught French and Hindi across Primary and Middle school. Her passion for Education has inspired her to travel and learn through her varied experiences. She has been a part of many trainings and workshops conducted by Cambridge International which has empowered her towards effective leadership. She was also an accredited Program Leader for the Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers. An advocate of child-centric learning, Ms. Kiran has always believed that just as clay can be moulded beautifully once we know its texture and adaptability, we can work wonders with children once we know their strengths and weaknesses. Her optimistic view towards Education and learning reinforces her thought that “nothing is impossible”. Having been exposed to different cultures from childhood, Ms. Kiran radiates a strong sense of respect and discipline in her approach to education. Constantly inspiring and guiding, she motivates the students and teachers alike, to push their limits and explore new frontiers.
school
mentors
Mrs. Maya Thiagarajan
Middle School Mentor
A global educator, Maya Thiagarajan has taught in India, Singapore, and the US. She earned a BA in English from Middlebury College and a Master’s in Education Policy from Harvard University. Maya began her teaching career with Teach For America and then spent ten years teaching high school English at top private schools in the US. She later moved to Singapore, where she taught in the IB program at The United World College of South East Asia (UWC). Struck by the different approaches to education and parenting that she encountered in Asia, Maya began to interview Chinese and Indian parents living in Singapore. Using her own experiences as well as the stories of parents whom she interviewed, Maya wrote a highly acclaimed book titled Beyond the Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age. In addition to teaching and writing, Maya has conducted numerous teacher training workshops in Singapore and India. She speaks widely on education, and is a consultant and advisor to a number of schools. In 2017, she relocated to Chennai, India, to pursue her dream of starting a company that would help schools recruit, develop, and inspire teachers. She is currently the Founder and Education Director at TREE.
Mrs. Mallika Ganapathy
Primary School Mentor
"I believe that the depth of change, growth and fulfillment we bring in the lives of people around us is how deep these very things penetrate and happen within us. I consider it an honour that life has bestowed on me an opportunity to experience this around children. My journey started 32 years ago, working with differently-abled children and their families. Working closely with them made me realize, that all children had an innate potential and inherent motivation to learn, and had a right to an optimal learning space. This belief led me to work with administrators on policies; teachers on pedagogic practices in rural, special, CBSE, ICSC and Cambridge Schools in the southern states of India. The objective was to ensure a secure, organic and material rich learning space for children. Realizing the importance of capacity building in teachers led to focus on teacher-training and authoring chapters in a book published by Sage Publishers-“Within Walls Without Boundaries” and a book on “Understanding Best Inclusive Practices in Schools” by Seva-in-Action, and a Master Trainer Manual on “Promoting Reading” by IBM and The Promise Foundation. As Trustee and Director of MIRRA Charitable Trust; an initiative “ABIVIDHI”, a collaborative eco-system of schools; NGOs, parents and professionals to make inclusion a reality was launched in Chennai. Worked with KFI and Chennai Corporation, and developed a Universal Curriculum for Primary, to meet the needs of every child in the class, irrespective of differences. I believe that when children are self-directed and learn through exploration and curiosity, they live what they have learnt and offer it freely with sensitivity and compassion to others."
