A good educationist, leading builder and jeweler is Dr Manjunath Shripad Revankar.
Born to late Shripad Krishna Revankar and late Gulabi Shripad Revankar at Hiregutti, Kumta taluk, he completed his early education in Hiregutti and secured a degree in Bachelor of Civil Engineering.
He joined Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bengaluru as an engineer, but there was a different calling for Revankar, who quit the job in the ISRO to start his own jewellery business. Thus Suraj Jewel Palace was born.
Using his engineering skills, he started a construction and promoting enterprise, Suraj Builders, which has been at the service of its customers for over a decade now.
When he felt that he has earned enough for himself, he ventured into taking up activities through which he could pay back to the society.
As a part of social service, he started two schools in Mudipu, which is a remote area near Mangaluru- Suraj International School and Jnana Deepa High School. Even though these institutions are in remote areas, they provide the best education and co-curricular activities to its pupils.
However, the highlight is that these schools do not collect any donation. So, the poor students who are more likely to be deprived of quality education have been getting quality education.
Dr Manjunath didn’t stop there. He further started a Pre-University college so that many of the poor students can excel with maximum amount of knowledge. Suraj PU College offers two years of PU courses in science, commerce and arts, with a vision of all-round development of students and strives for excellence in education. The mission of the institution is to become a centre of competency.
The campus is spread across two acres of land adjacent to Infosys and Mudipu. It is located at a distance of 20KM from Mangaluru, which is well connected by road, air and train to all the major cities of India. The campus is a knowledge hub. Well built hostel facility for both boys and girls is available inside the campus. For the local students the institution runs its own transport fleet for students who commute daily. This service runs on all the working days on different routes.
The Science stream offers three combinations. They are as below:
PCMB: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology
PCMC: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science
PCMS: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics.
The Commerce stream offers Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics/ Statistics/ Computer Science.
The Arts stream offers History, Economics, Political Science and Sociology.
English is offered as the first language and Kannada or Hindi as the second language option.
Here again, Dr Manjunath’s only aim was to do good to society and no turn these institutions of learning into money minting centres.
Hence, even in PU colleges, Dr Manjunath makes it a point to give admission without collecting donations from aspiring students.
On the other hand, the college gives special concession in the fees for economically deprived children.
This institution not only teaches how to score good marks in the exams but also teaches all the students how to excel in their life when they pass out from the college. Aiming on the overall development of students, the college has well-equipped science labs, computer education, digital library, spacious classrooms, auditorium and sprawling playground. Along with the curricular activities, students are motivated to take part in co-curricular activities also. Because of the institution’s motivation, many students have secured many prizes in inter-school and inter-state competitions.
Dr Manjunath’s achievements
He is an active member of Rotary international organization. He has served as the Secretary and President of Rotary Club Mangalore Central, District 3180. He was the chairman of Rotary International Pulse Polio Project. He holds the record of insuring 25000 student-parent insurance policies from 268 government schools to the poor students of rural areas. At present he is the Vice Chairman of Rotary District 3180 for the year 2015-2016.
Many organizations have recognized the pro-social work done by Dr Manjunath Shripad Revankar and have felicitated him. He is the ‘Aryabhata’ awardee which is given by Aryabhata Cultural Organization, Bengaluru. He also received ‘Saurabha Gaurava’ award by Suma Sourabha news daily, ‘Samaja Rathna’ award by Ranga Samaja, ‘Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhiji Sadhbhavan’ award by Darshan Cultural Academy and ‘Bharat Ratan’ award from All India National Unity Council. Moreover he is felicitated by Mata Amruthanandamayee for revolutionary change in the field of education. He was felicitated by Dr Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple. He has received a Honorary Doctorate degree from Einstein International University, Florida, USA for his contribution and achievements in educational sector.
