Apeejay School International celebrates Founder’s Day with great fervour

By Naman Vasdev

On the occasion of beloved Founder-Chairman Dr. Stya Paul’s 103^rd birth anniversary, Apeejay School International, South Delhi, celebrated Founder’s Day.

Dr. Stya Paul, Founder Chairman of Apeejay Education and Apeejay Stya Group, was an eminent industrialist, educationist, and philanthropist.  He started Apeejay Education in 1967 in a small school in Jalandhar. Today, the Apeejay group runs 26 educational institutions across the country.

Fondly addressed by students as ‘Dada-ji’, Dr. Stya Paul was a beacon of inspiration. His legacy of excellence has always had a major mark on people. His life is an example that everything is possible if you have the will, dedication and resolution to achieve your goals.

He suffered a physical handicap caused by polio at the age of two but still overcame his disability to become one of the most respected men of the country. Despite having no finance for his education, he never stopped learning.

He performed well enough on his matriculation exam to win a merit scholarship to DAV College, Jalandhar, where he displayed extraordinary talent in Mathematics, securing first position in B.A. honors in the subject as well as a gold medal. He became a University record holder for several years in the State of Punjab. This led him to enroll in a Mathematics course in Government College in Lahore, where he was placed third in the University’s final M.A. exam in 1941. 

One of the notable quotations of Dr Stya Paul was “’Soaring High is My Nature’ which exemplifies the fact that academic excellence should go parallel with human excellence. It is not a disgrace if dreams are unfulfilled, but it is, if we have no dreams to dream!”. Throughout his life, Dr Stya Paul has helped hundreds of people secure jobs and scholarships. His incredible journey has inspired many people on how we can make a change in our lives.

To celebrate Founder’s Day and birth anniversary of this visionary soul, Mr. Purshottam Dutt Vashist, Principal of Apeejay School International and other faculty members paid tribute to Dr. Stya Paul by lighting the ceremonial lamp.

On this special occasion, a video on Dr. Stya Paul’s life was shown to inspire the students. The programme was enthralled by his favourite bhajan – ‘Raghupati Raghav’ by the school’s choir.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Vashist said, “We can learn a lot from Dr. Stya Paul’s life – his quality of being humble and his ability to surge through challenges in life by focusing on solutions rather than problems.”

The day was a reminder of the Apeejay’s great legacy as students learned important lessons from the life of Dr. Stya Paul. They appreciated his vision of value-based, holistic education focusing on acquiring thinking skills and learning.