City Montessori School

City Montessori School
जय जगत (Glory to the World)
Location
Lucknow, UP, IN
Information
Type	Private
Established	1959 by Jagdish Gandhi & Dr Bharti Gandhi
Affiliation	Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)
Website	Central Site,Branch Site

City Montessori School (CMS), Lucknow (सिटी मॉन्टेसरी स्कूल, लखनऊ) is a private school that offers education up to the level of under-graduation, in Lucknow, India. The school was founded in 1959 by Bharti Gandhi and Jagdish Gandhi. By 2008 its enrollment had reached 32,000 pupils, a world record. CMS is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. The school has been ranked 6th in the "most respected secondary schools" in India list compiled by IMRB in 2007. CMS has a Girls' Degree College at the LDA Branch on Kanpur Road, Lucknow which offers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) courses.

CMS Founders

Dr Jagdish Gandhi was born on 10 November, 1936 in a poor family in the Barsauli Village in district Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Influenced greatly by Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and others, a young and idealistic Jagdish Gandhi ventured in 1959 to create a new mindset through education. With just five children on roll, no personal wealth, and the equivalent of Rupees 300/- (US $10) in borrowed capital, the motivated Dr Gandhi began his own personal experiment in Lucknow, India, some fifty one years ago in the name of City Montessori School.

Professional Experience and Offices Held

• Founder- Manager, City Montessori School, Lucknow, UP, India
• Chairman, World Council for Total Quality and Excellence in Education (WCTQEE)
• Founder, World Movement for Rights of Children (WMFRC), India
• Founder, World Movement for Global Democracy (WMGD), India
• Vice President, World Constitution and Parliamentary Association, USA
• President, Children’s International Summer Village (CISV), U.P. Chapter, India (since 1992)
• President, International School-to-School Experience (ISSE), U.P. Chapter, India (since 1972)
• Vice-President, Intellectual Forum of India, U.P. Chapter, India (since 2001)
• Convener, International Conferences of The Chief Justices of the World, India (since 2001)
• Chief Coordinator, Indo-Pak Childr

en’s friendship Club Aao Dosti Karein (since 2002)

Mrs. Bharti Gandhi's name has become synonymous with City Montessori Schools. Her sincere devotion towards the education of children, training of teachers, upliftment of women, eradication of social evils, is recognized and she is respected by everyone for the same.

In 1959 Mrs. Bharti Gandhi along with her husband Mr. Jagdish Gandhi laid the foundation of Sarvodaya Seva Sansthan, which is a registered body and under the aegis of which all their activities - social, educational and cultural are carried on. Mrs. Gandhi worked as a Psychologist in the U.P. Government Psychology Centre at Lucknow in the years 1957-59. She worked as a lecturer in the Khun Khun Ji Girls Degree College, Lucknow in 1960-61, and was the Principal of Adarsh Shiksha Kendra Inter College, Lucknow in 1961-62.

In 1962 Mrs. Gandhi convened an All India Anti Dowry Conference. She also led a band of selfless women workers to picket liquor shops and explained to alcoholics the evils of drinking. She convened the U.P. Stage Prohibition Conference, the first of its kind in September 1965, which was inaugurated by Shri Morarji Desai. Her devotion to the cause of women's welfare is truly great. In 1965 Mrs. Gandhi organized a Women Workers Conference at Anand Bhawan in Allahabad. This Conference was addressed by Saint Vinoba Bhave. Other issues which are of great interest to Mrs. Gandhi are adult education and national integration. She convened Children and Youth Festivals and Conferences to promote national integration.

In 1974 Mrs Gandhi espoused the Baha'i Faith, an independent religion that teaches the oneness of God, of religion and of mankind. She has been a member of the national administrative body of the Baha'is of India and the Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly for about 27 years.

It is notable that at the age of 60 Mrs Bharti Gandhi decided to get a doctorate in Education from Benaras Hindu University, this despite the fact that she was already M.Ed., Psychologist.

Mrs Gandhi is quite an original thinker and CMS has greatly benefitted not only from her hard and dedicated services but also from her innovative ideas and fresh thinking on education which has influenced not only CMS but hundreds of schools nationwide.

Mrs Bharti Gandhi's life has been one of dedication to the service of children and to women's welfare and she continues this task undeterred by any obstacles. She has a tremendous zeal for life and continues to work 16-18 hours a day.

CMS Branches

CMS has 21 branch campuses spread across the city.

• CMS Aliganj Branch (Old Bldg)
• CMS Aliganj Branch (Sector O)
• CMS Aminabad Branch
• CMS Anand Nagar Branch
• CMS Asharfabad Branch
• CMS Chowk Branch
• CMS Gomti Nagar Branch
• CMS Indira Nagar Branch
• CMS Jopling Road Branch
• CMS Kanpur Road Branch
• CMS Mahanagar Branch (3rd Bldg)
• CMS Mahanagar Branch (Old Bldg)
• CMS Mahanagar Branch (New Bldg)
• CMS Rajajipuram Branch (New Bldg)
• CMS Rajajipuram Branch (Old Bldg)
• CMS Rajendra Nagar Branch (Old)
• CMS Rajendra Nagar Branch (UPIL)
• CMS Rajendra Nagar Branch (New Build)
• CMS,R.D.S.O. Colony Branch
• CMS Station Road Branch
• CMS Vardan Khand, Gomtinagar Branch

World citizenship

CMS inculcates in students the philosophy of 'Jai Jagat' (Glory be to the World).

CMS organizes 24 international events annually to promote world unity and world peace.

Events and competitions

• Commonwealth Youth Conference
• Celesta International: a cultural Fest
• MACFAIR (Maths and Computer Fair)
• International Education Fair (IEF)
• International Quality Summit (IQS)
• GlobalTie Conference
• International Innovations Day
• EXSPO International Sport Olympiad
• World Peace Festival
• GEOFEST International and National Geography Olympiad
• International Youth Fest
• SAARC Youth Festival
• QUANTA: International Competition for Science, Mathematics, Mental Ability, Astronomy and Computer Science
• International Astronomy Olympiad
• International Young Mathematicians' Competition (IYMC)
• The International Conference of the Chief Justices of the World (World Judiciary Summit)
• Children's International Summer Village (CISV) Camps
• International School-to-School Experience (ISSE)
• International Computer Fair and Seminar (COFAS)
• ODYSSEY: International Literary English Fest
• Wizards at Mathematics International Competition (WIZMIC)
• EUREKA International
• International Convention on Students' Quality Control Circle's (ICSQCC)
• International Conference of Pre-Primary Principal
• Ed-Leadership Conference
• Quest International Festival of Biotechnology
• International Youth Conference on Commerce and Economics (IYCCE)

UNESCO Peace Prize

CMS was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2002, the first school in the world to be so honored, in recognition of its efforts "to promote the universal values of education for peace and tolerance at a time when these values are increasingly being challenged". The UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2002 was awarded to CMS in recognition of its efforts to promote universal values of education for peace and tolerance. The Director-General of UNESCO handed the 2002 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education to Jagdish and Bharti Gandhi, founders of CMS at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. In congratulating CMS, Mr Matsuura said, “A school must act as a lighthouse of society, providing direction and guidance, for each child is potentially the light of the world... as a future conscious and proactive member of society.”

Service activities

CMS students help their local and national communities. They have founded Eco Clubs, hosted environmental seminars, organized tree plantings and clean up projects, and lobbied state legislature for water pollution control.

In recognition of their service and environmental activitism, the Commissioner Lucknow division appointed CMS students for monitoring and enforcement of the local air pollution guidelines for vehicle emissions.

DEVI Sansthan - standing for Dignity, Education, Vision, International - is a non profit NGO dedicated to empowering rural/ urban poor and women, CMS students have participated in village literacy programmes and worked side by side with village residents to build roads.

CMS students fund raise for the India Cancer Society.

Awards and honours

The institution has received the following awards: -

• 'Gusi Peace Prize 2011' awarded to Dr Jagdish Gandhi
• 'Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award'
• The Hope of Humanity Award
• Honorary Doctorate Degree in Education, Russia 2009
• Guinness World Record Certificate, World Level, Certificate updated in 2010
• Computer Literacy Excellence Award 2008
• Bandaranaike Global Excellence Award, Sri Lanka 2007
• Computer Literacy Excellence Award 2005
• Ashoka Changemakers Innovation Award, World Level 2005
• Bhartiya Awam Society UP Award, India 2005
• Nuclear–Free Future Award, India 2004
• Peaceful Schools International Recognition, Canada 2004
• Life Link Campaign Recognition, Sweden 2004
• Computer Literacy Excellence Award, Government of India 2004
• World’s Children Prize for the Rights of the Child, Sweden 2004
• Global Friend of World's Children 2004
• Computer Literacy Excellence Award, Government of India 2003
• Verdlaun Excellence Award, Iceland 2003
• Council for Global Education's Excellence Award 2003
• The Key to the City of Georgetown, USA,
• UNESCO Prize for Peace Education, World Level,
• Quality Pioneer Award, Mauritius 2000
• Derozio Award India, 2000
• Friend of Young Physicists, Poland 1999
• Guinness World Record Certificate, World Level, First recognition in 1999
• Peace Representative, World Level, 1988

Guinness World Record

The school is the largest school in the world in terms of pupils. It had a record enrolment of 32,114 pupils on 5 February 2008 for the 2007-2008 academic year. CMS received an updated certificate in October 2010 from the Guinness World Records that stated: ‘‘The largest school in terms of pupils is the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, which had a record enrolment of 39,437 pupils on 9 August 2010 for the 2010-2011 academic year.’’

External links

• http://www.cmspdcc.org
• http://www.jagdishgandhi.org
• http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/amazing_feats/mass_participation/largest_school_by_pupils.aspx
• http://www.saidas.in/workshops
• http://www.cmseducation.org/cms_site/special_projects/health_edu/index.htm