Christel House India (CH India), a non-profit that provides free education and long-term support to children from severely under-resourced communities, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to establish a second school in Thane. This will be a new CBSE English-medium campus in Kavesar, and it will become CH India’s fifth school in the country. The signing follows last week’s announcement, in which CH India shared plans to add more schools over the next ten years as part of its continued expansion across India.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Saurabh Rao, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Thane Municipal Corporation, and Jaison C. Mathew, CEO, Christel House India, in the presence of Prashant Rode, Additional Commissioner; Major Dr. Nitin Rathod, Additional Commissioner; Dr. Mitali Sancheti, Deputy Commissioner; Martha Lamkin, Board Chair – Christel House International; David Harris, President & CEO – Christel House International; Donald Knebel, Board Vice Chair – Christel House International; and Rajeev Ram, Global Ambassador – Christel House.
This is CH India’s second school in Thane, coming just months after its first Thane campus welcomed its inaugural batch of students earlier this year. Both schools operate in partnership with the Thane Municipal Corporation, adding to CH India’s existing public-private partnerships with the Nava Raipur Atal Nagar Vikas Pradhikaran in Atal Nagar and the Pune Zilla Parishad in Pune.
Mr. Saurabh Rao, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Thane Municipal Corporation, said, “As Thane continues to grow, ensuring every neighbourhood has access to quality education has to be part of that growth. Our first school with Christel House showed us what this model can deliver for a community. This second MoU, for a school in Kavesar, is a continuation of our commitment to the city’s children.”
“This second school in Thane is proof of something we have always believed: impact is built on trust, and trust takes time. The Municipal Corporation saw what our first campus here could do for a community, and they chose to partner with us again. We are deeply grateful for that confidence, and Kavesar will have our full commitment, the same way every Christel House school does,” added Jaison C. Mathew, CEO, Christel House India.
CH India’s education model is built “whole-child” approach that integrates quality English-medium education, daily nutrition, healthcare, safe transportation, socio-emotional counselling, character development, and college and career guidance. This support follows each child from kindergarten through their early career, a journey that can span 18 years or more per student. All of this, along with uniforms, learning materials, and post-secondary scholarships, is provided entirely free of cost, with admissions based on evidence of poverty rather than simply academic merit.
