Women’s Polytechnic School and Student Residence

The Annai Velankanni Polytechnic College and the St.Anne’s College of Engineering and Technology were inaugurated in 2006. Both institutions have the aim of facilitating access to studies to the young women with few resources.

This center imparts training in different technological fields, offering courses in: civil engineering, electricity, electronics, mechanics, communication and computing. Thanks to the technical knowledge that the students acquire, they then have the opportunity to find work or set up businesses.

The students that attend this school come from Panruti and four other districts adjacent to the district to Cuddalore-Pondichery. Many of them come from Dalit or very poor families, so they are not charged fees, or are provided with scholarships, in order to finance their studies.

Due to the marginalized position of women in India, one of the goals of the university, currently is to increase the presence of women there. Due to this, and the reluctance of parents to permit their daughters to travel long distances, the congregation and the Foundation decided to construct a residence, which could facilitate Dalit women, or those without resources, access to the engineering in the center. The whole objective is to incourage the spirit of improvement and independence in women, so that they may begin to assume more active roles in society.

Since the tsunami, The Hope and Joy Foundation has helped this institution with the addition of buildings, equipment and scholarships for students. In 2011-2012 a total of 1,366 students received classes in this school, 48 of which were women.