SJK (T) VIVEKANANDA PETALING JAYA
1958 - 1979
The Ashrama Committee saw a need for a Tamil school in the growing town of Petaling Jaya. Initially the school was housed in the old office of the PJ Authority and had 35 students and one qualified teacher. The Ashrama converted an adjacent building to house a kindergarten.
On application by the Ashrama for land, the Petaling Jaya Authority allotted 3 acres at the junction of Jalan Templer and Jalan Sungei Jerneh for a new school premises with a large field. The 1st phase of the building plan provided for 3 class rooms, headmaster’s office, shrine room, verandah and modern sanitation costing about $35,000. The second phase was a double-storey building. The Ashrama went out in the field to raise the first $ 35,000. In its formative years the school teachers and the Ashrama Committee members went door-to door including to nearby rubber plantations to convince the Tamil-speaking parents to send their children for benefit of education and culture. This turned out to be the most arduous task in the early years. To entice parents to send their children to school, transport and hot meal was provided!
Mr S. Appudurai who served as Hon. Secretary of the Ashrama as well as the Manager of the School, Mr K. Sivapragasam who was the Hon. Secretary of the Ashrama and Mr S Kandiah who became the Hon Secretary of Schools were responsible for the establishment of the Vivekananda Primary School Petaling Jaya. It was primarily the efforts of Mr S. Kandiah, the Hon Secretary of the Schools, who was the prime mover for the establishing the school .
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The school was first opened in January 1958 by the Administrator of the Petaling Jaya Authority, Mr W.F.G. Le Bailly. There were 35 students to begin with 1 teacher.
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The Vivekananda Tamil School Petaling Jaya acquired 3 acres of land in Jalan Templer for the school and playground. The building plans were approved and the first building was built at a cost of RM35,000.00 in June 1960. The opening ceremony was inaugurated by the Minister of Education YB Encik Abdul Rahman b. Haji Talib. The school was headed by Mr A Kasippillai. There were 130 students with 4 teachers. English and Malay language teachers were employed.
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In 1962 for the Malaysia Day celebrations,the school was awarded special prize by the Menteri Besar Selangor for decorating their school premises.
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In 1967 there were three additional classrooms built in school at a cost of RM20,000 with the assistance of the Ministry of Education.
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By 1979 ,the school headed by Mr A Sothinathan had 906 students.
BRIEF
W.F.G Bailly
On 5.1.1958 Mr W.F.G. La Bailly, Administrator, Petaling Jaya Authority, lighted the 'Lamp of Learning' on the occasion of the official opening of the Vivekananda Tamil School, Petaling Jaya. Others in the picture include Mr. S Kandiah (right), Secretary, Vivekananda Schools Committee, Mr A. Arumugam, Manager, Vivekananda School, and Mr K. Navaratnam of the Vivekananda Tamil School KL. The auspicious start given by these 'elders' to the school has borne fruit in abundance.
1980-1989
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In 1981 with the increase of the student population to 938, the available classrooms and other facilities were inadequate. The Ashrama felt it was time to increase the facilities.. With the assistance sought from the Government ,building plans were undertaken and a new block of nine classrooms were built and fully equipped at a cost of RM 300,000. The students had the opportunity to participate in many extra-curricular activities that were organised by the teachers. This included a 60-member music band that was sponsored by the Petaling Jaya State Assemblyman YB Mr Soong Siew Hoong. This was the only Tamil school to have had a band of this size and stature.
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In 1986 the student population increased to 1210 and it became the largest Tamil A- grade school in the country. The need to build more classrooms soon became evident. Plans were made and funds were needed. Between 1985 and 1987, a new block was built. The funds needed were raised from the many cultural performances organised by the Sangeetha Abivirithi Sabha.
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The school developed rapidly and to provide funding for infrastructure , the Ashrama tapped on all possible channels within its reach to raise funds. The funds sought were no small money as the infrastructure was always planned with future needs in mind. The Ashrama was fortunate that its track record in developing and administering schools, it succeeded in its periodic fund raising initiatives.
1990-1999
The decade of the nineties saw a new educational curriculum and the Ashrama had to make plans to enable the students to cope with the changes. The performance of the Tamil school students were declining. The student population in 1993 of the school was 2,200 students.
The following initiatives were taken to improve the performance of the students.
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Students taking the UPSR exams were given additional classes in preparation for the exams.
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A seminar was held at Shangri-la Hotel for teachers, Headmasters and Senior Assistants to discuss measures to improve the academic performance of the students.
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The eststablishment of resource centre .
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Residential classes were held during school holidays.
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There were night classes three times a week for all the schools
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Study camps were also organised for student motivation.
The school needed more classrooms to cater for the constantly growing student population. The Ashrama planned for a 3-storey building and with a grant of RM240,000 given by the Government with the assistance of YB Dato Seri Samy Vellu, who was the Minister of Energy, Telecommunication and Posts,. The construction began in 1992. A fund raising campaign was also initiated with a Food and Fun Fair and other cultural performances to raise funds. The 3-storey building was completed in 1999.
Y.B Dato Seri Dr. S. Samy Vellu, Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Post, as Chief Guest at the Pesta Ria organised by SJK (Tamil) Vivekananda, Petaling Jaya on 10 May 1991
2000 to date
The turn of the century saw TVAKL making great strides in enhancing not only the t quality of education in the Vivekananda Schools but also providing excellent facilities for the students.
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From 2005 onwards, the school was administered by a very capable headmaster , Mr S Balamohan who remained as a headmaster for about 10 years. The school performed well in both academic and co-curricular activities. He worked very closely with the Chairman of the school and improved the infrastructure of the school. In this effort our kudos go to the largesse of Dato Seri S Samy Vellu, MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) President and the Minister of Works along with the Ministry of Education. the school received grants and funds to provide a holistic education for the largest Tamil school in the country.
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In 2011 the school began its kindergarten class. The Vivekananda Ashrama had also renovated and refurbished the Library and an Audio-Visual room .. A state-of-the art computer lab was also installed in the school.
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The Ministry of Education allocated RM3 million for a 3-storey building for the Vivekananda Tamil School Petaling Jaya. The building was completed in 2011.
In 2012 “Program Viveka Academia” was initiated by Ashrama for all its schools with the cooperation of the teachers, parents and well wishers of the Ashrama. This was a contribution through MCEF which provided the funds to improve academic standards of the students.
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The student population in the school decreased over the years due to the availability of other primary schools in the neighbourhood. However the academic standards have been maintained.
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To encourage sporting activities and inculcate competitive spirit, a football and netball competition was organised for all Tamil schools in Kuala Lumpur. The games were held in SJK(T) Vivekananda, Petaling Jaya on 28th July 2018. All Ashrama's primary schools participated in the competition. Thanks to the Organizing Committee headed by Mr A Thangaperumal who was assisted by a group of enthusiastic teachers and parents for their interest and effort in having organised a successful event which saw keen competition amongst the participating teams
