Kozhikode: 

The Faizal and Shabana Foundation, renowned for its exemplary work in the field of education, has expanded its model project, 'Nadakkavu Model' School, to Kashmir. This initiative marks a significant step in the foundation's efforts to elevate educational standards across the country. The project's earlier success in revamping Nadakavu School in Kozhikode had garnered nationwide attention.

The foundation's development efforts are now focused on the Govt Girls Higher Secondary School in Kothibagh, Srinagar. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Faizal and Shabana Foundation to formalize this collaboration.

The primary aim of the project is to ensure quality education for girls, continuing the foundation's mission to enhance educational opportunities. The inauguration ceremony in Srinagar was attended by several prominent individuals, including KE Faizal, Chairman of KEF Holdings and Co-Founder and Director of Faizal and Shabana Foundation, and Shabana Faizal, Vice Chairperson of KEF Holdings and Founder and Director of the foundation.

The event also saw the presence of Razzak Faizal, Founder of Peak Mobility, among other top officials.

Founded in 2007, by UAE-based businessman Faizal Kottikollon, founder of KEF Holdings, and his wife Shabana Faizal, the foundation has donated more than INR340m ($4.5m) for the rehabilitation of schools, based on a model of quickly replacing crumbling classrooms with prefabricated structures.

Shabana hails from Mangaluru in Karnataka state of India. She is the only daughter of prominent businessman and socio religious leader Late B Ahmed Haji Mohiudeen who founded the prestigious BA Group of Businesses in Thumbay near Mangaluru.

Faizal believes inequality begins at the school gate and this belief of his decision to turn his attention and wealth towards rebuilding India’s underserved public schools in an effort to level the playing field for poorer students.

The foundation has till date contributed to the renovation of 19 schools in three south Indian states – Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The renovation model of the foundation has been so successful that the Indian government the model to renovate other schools. The practice has played a part in the transformation of nearly 1,000 schools countrywide, with more than 300,000 students benefitting from new classrooms and other facilities.

Today, more than 140 schools in Kerala follow the Nadakkavu model, and hundreds more have been influenced in some way. The foundation has provided direct financial support to 16 schools in Kerala, two in Tamil Nadu and one in Bangalore.

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Dandeli: In an incident reported on Sunday, a bus carrying school students who had come to Dandeli for a trip reportedly overturned in the middle of the road.

The accident occurred as the group was returning to Dandeli after engaging in water sports at Ganeshgudi.

Reports suggest that the bus, carrying students from St. Anthony's High School in Hosadurga, Chitradurga district, overturned into a roadside gutter after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Locals and resort staff nearby promptly came to the rescue, pulling the children from the wreckage and arranging for their transport to Dandeli Government Hospital using ambulances. Among the rescuers were locals Rafiq Kutty, Irshad Khan, Ashfaq Naika, Mehboob Mujawar, and Ramesh Nadara, whose swift actions were instrumental in ensuring the injured received immediate medical attention.

The injured students are currently undergoing treatment at Dandeli Government Hospital. Police from the Ramanagara Station have visited the site and are conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.

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