In response to the appeal of the devotees of the Ramakrishna order, Swami Adyananda was sent to Singapore and with their help started a branch center of the Ramakrishna Mission on the 7th of August 1928. The mission occupied its first premises at Norris Road in 1932. The same year, the mission started the Vivekananda school, which taught both English and Tamil to children and a night school for adults from the poor sections of the community. A separate school for girls – ‘Sardamani girls’ School’ was subsequently opened in 1937 and it was quickly filled to capacity. The mission established one of the earliest Tamil schools in Singapore. Several Tamil Schools were established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These schools were located near the British bases in Seletar, Sembawang and Changi where Tamils found employment. Much later, these schools were discontinued because of the declining number of students due to Tamil families’ preference to send their children to English medium Schools. This is probably one of the earliest photographs available of the school.
