Indeed a journey of a thousand miles start from one
City Montessori School aka CMS is The world’s biggest school: 47,000 pupils in 1,000 classrooms run by 3,800 staff in India
City Montessori School aka CMS is The world’s biggest school: 47,000 pupils in 1,000 classrooms run by 3,800 staff in India
Dr Jagdish Gandhi started the school in 1959 with only five pupils
He believes every child has the right to an education
The school receives no government funding; parents are charged a small fee for their children to attend
Starting from humble beginnings in a building with just five pupils, City Montessori school in India is now the world’s largest – with a staggering 47,000 attendees.
He believes every child has the right to an education
The school receives no government funding; parents are charged a small fee for their children to attend
Starting from humble beginnings in a building with just five pupils, City Montessori school in India is now the world’s largest – with a staggering 47,000 attendees.
It is so large a packed Anfield football stadium could comfortably attend – with room to spare.
The school, known as CMS, employs an army of 3,800 staff, including teachers, support staff, cleaners, rickshaw drivers, and even electricians, carpenters and gardeners.
Today, it sprawls over 20 campuses across the city – and is still growing despite more than doubling in size during the last 14-years alone.
Dr. Gandhi said: ‘I founded this school with great difficulty back in 1959. I was beating the drum all around the part of Lucknow that I live for 15 days but no one came.
‘It was only when me and my wife persuaded a woman to send the children from her extended family that it all started, and even then it was only five children.
‘We started from very humble beginnings and back then we only had a loan of 300 rupees (£3 at current rates) to fund our school.
‘But from word of mouth it slowly spread and children started coming. Year after year the numbers swelled.
‘I never thought that one day we would have the world’s biggest school. There are over 20 campuses around Lucknow and we are bigger than the population of many towns.’
The school’s rapid growth saw it officially recognised by the 2013 Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest, taking the crown from Rizal High School in Manila, Philippines, which had just 19,738 pupils.
Dr. Gandhi added: ‘It was a proud moment for us when we were included in the record book.
‘But since then we have kept growing – in the last 14 years the number has more than doubled from 22,000
‘I believe that we should not deny children the right to education.’
CMS’s sheer size means it has never convened for an assembly – because there is no venue large enough to house them all.
Geeta Kingdon, the current head teacher and daughter of founder Dr. Gandhi, said: ‘The whole of Lucknow would be jammed if we tried because one bus holds 50 children, so we’d need 1,000 buses to bring them together.’
The school receives no government funding, instead charging a relatively modest 1,000 rupees (£12) a month in fees for younger pupils, rising to £2,500 (£30) a month for seniors.
Some of its past alumni have gone on to work for the United Nations, studied at Harvard and worked for Goldman Sachs.
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