Community Impact In Education

Over 90 years of focusing on inclusive education, with special focus on empowering the Girl Child

The Madras Seva Sadan was established with the Founder's vision of empowering the lives of underprivileged women and children by equipping them to be self-reliant. Starting with just 8 students in 1930, the quickly grew into an educational institution offering comprehensive literary, cultural, and vocational training.

The Madras Seva Sadan - Chetpet continues to run one of the oldest, girls-only government-aided schools in the country (1st in the city and 4th in the country) and has more than 2000 students studying in its government-aided institutions every year.

In 1963 Lady Andal, expanded this vision by starting an institution for mentally rehabilitated people who did not have an active support system to meet their needs.

This was expanded further by The Madras Seva Sadan with the establishment of the Learning Centre in 1998. A rarity at the time, the Learning Centre encouraged the development of scholastic and social skills for children with learning difficulties. In 2005, the Centre grew to include the Occupational Therapy Centre to help develop a child’s cognitive, gross and motor skills.

The Madras Seva Sadan works closely with the Government of India and is part of the National Initiative of Open Schooling (NIOS); supporting sportspersons and differently abled children to complete their education with an internationally recognised scholastic certification.

  • Sir Mutha & Lady Andal with H.E. Governor of Madras – Sir K.V. Reddi (1936)
    Sir Mutha & Lady Andal with H.E. Governor of Madras – Sir K.V. Reddi (1936)
  • Independence Day celebrations at the Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao School
    Independence Day celebrations at the Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao School
  • Lady Andal with erstwhile Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister (1958)
    Lady Andal with erstwhile Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister (1958)
  • Sports Day celebrations at The Madras Seva Sadan Higher Secondary Girls School in Chetpet
    Sports Day celebrations at The Madras Seva Sadan Higher Secondary Girls School in Chetpet
  • The first Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao School building (1971)
    The first Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao School building (1971)

Prominent Advocates of Education

Prominent advocates using education to empower under-privileged sections of society, with special focus on women and girl children over the last nine decades

  1. 1936

    Founding Of The Madras Seva Sadan Matriculation School For Girls
    A school dedicated to empowering the Girl Child, through education. The school offers various academic & vocational courses, in addition to providing training in art, crafts and sport. The school continues to focus on the under-served sections of society even today, and provides entirely free education for students from classes I to XII.
  2. 1952

    The Madras Seva Sadan Higher Secondary School – Tambaram (Tamil Medium)
    In response to an urgent appeal by the people of Tambaram (a suburb in Chennai) for quality education in the area, the Founders started The Madras Seva Sadan Higher Secondary School – Tambaram. Today, it is a government-aided school that provides education in the Tamil medium, from classes LKG to Class V. The school also features a self-financed, English medium school that caters to children from the LKG to standard V. In conjunction with the Government of Tamil Nadu’s Noon Meal Scheme, the school provides nutritious meals to children every day.
  3. 1971

    Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao Higher Secondary School For Boys - T.Nagar
    Initially started as an ISC school by Mr. N. V. Rao (nephew of Lady Andal) started the school as an ISC Boys school. However, keeping in mind the need of the locality, the school later switched to the Tamil Nadu Government’s State Board syllabus. Towards the end of the millennium, the school metamorphosed into a co-educational school.
    The School counts amongst its alumni, many luminaries who have shone in varied fields like the Arts, Sports and the Judiciary and much more.
  4. 1987

    Founding of the Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao Matriculation Higher Secondary School
    Started by Mrs. C Prema Kumar, great grand-niece of Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao, the school soon rose to prominence in the city’s educational landscape and is today one of the most prestigious and elite schools in the city and also the country.
    With the establishment of the Learning Centre in 1998, Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao School, was among the first schools to provide dedicated infrastructure to help mainstream children with learning disabilities.
    In 2005, the center expanded and established the Occupational Therapy Centre to was also established to support cognitive, gross & motor skills for children with mental and physical disabilities.
  5. 2010

    Sir & Lady M. Venkatasubba Rao School In Tambaram
    Started by The Madras Seva Sadan in 2010, the school is a self-financed, English medium school following the matriculation board, thus, providing quality education in the city’s suburbs.
    As with The Madras Seva Sadan’s other schools, where inclusivity is an integral part of the ethos, the Sir & Lady M. Venkatasubba Roa school in Tambaram also boasts of a dedicated learning centre and an exclusive occupational therapy room, with trained special educators and counsellors.
  6. 2012

    Sir Mutha School, established on the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus
    The Sir Mutha School affiliated to the CBSE, was started by The Madras Seva Sadan as a result of appeals by parents to provide a more nationally recognised syllabus, in order to deliver a better platform for students to compete on the national stage.
    Apart from state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, Sir Mutha School also follows the national pedagogical plan to ensure academic excellence.
    Additionally in keeping with The Madras Seva Sadan’s principles of holistic education, Sir Mutha School also gives great importance to extra and co-curricular activities.
  7. 2020

    Continuing The legacy of the Lady Andal Matriculation Higher Secondary School
    Mrs. Krithika Kumar Quintal And Mrs. Tamara Ann Coelho (Great-Great-Grand Nieces the founders), transitioned the Lady Andal School to the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework to provide opportunities to students with global aspirations.
    The Madras Seva Sadan, has invested in a state-of-the-art, LEED certified building with fully networked, “SMART” classrooms and other pre-requisites conforming to the norms of the IB board.

Change Agents Of Education For Almost 100 Years

The Madras Seva Sadan’s influence in education has been wide-ranging, long-standing and continues till date – by bring education to all!

  • 4000 + students education in

    Educated from The Madras Seva Sadan’s institutions, each year

  • 1 in 10 students

    Across the institutions, have special needs

  • 4th Oldest Girls School

    In the country, established in 1936 in Chennai

  • dedicated campus

    Dedicated campus for sportspersons and special needs children to complete schooling

No child left behind

The Madras Seva Sadan continues to build on it's Founder's vision of leaving no child behind by starting work on a dedicated building, exclusively for children with learning and other disabilities, in addition to supporting sportspersons under the NIOS initiative.