Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan to return to alma mater in Ooty as chief guest
COIMBATORE: It’s back to school for IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan this May. The alumnus of the famed Lawrence School at Lovedale in the Nilgiris will be presiding over the parade and prize distribution ceremony on May 2, part of his alma mater’s 167th Founder’s Day celebrations, as chief guest.
“I first went to a preparatory boarding school in Lovedale at the age of five and then joined the Lawrence School when I was eight years old,” PTR told TNIE. Recalling the separation from his family at that age as painful, he said he eventually adapted and managed to flourish. “The communication skills, discipline from military procedures, and resilience I developed through the guidance of great teachers, and now life-long friends, have shaped my life,” he said, adding that he is excited to share insights from his career with this generation of students.
In a post on ‘X’, PTR said he had the privilege of studying at prestigious institutions, had been invited to lecture at reputed universities and, as chief guest, had awarded academic degrees to thousands of students at convocations. “And yet, it will feel very special to return to my alma mater — The Lawrence School, Lovedale — as a chief guest at the Founder’s Day celebrations, more than 50 years after I first walked through its gates as a young boy. This homecoming will represent a journey, including over 25 years as an expatriate far from home, which has come full circle,” he posted.