The Office of Social and Economic Development at the Baha’i World Centre at this time greatly assisted in the transformation of the Rural Development programmes into an independent centre for training. This institution-building activity included the clarification of goals, the introduction of staff from various countries and fund raising. Dr. & Mrs. Tim Rost and later Mr. & Mrs. John Edmunds helped in the establishment of the New Era Development Institute. The intervening years between 1984 and 1994 brought Mr. Falairiva Taafaki again in many consultative and program planning efforts. His contributions will never be forgotten.

The frequent visits of Mr. Hasan Sabri lent a powerful impulse for the development of NEDI into what it is today. Mr. Sherif Rushdie became Director of NEDI in 1991 and the institution made a qualitative leap with fresh team-building and expansion of activities. Funding assistance came from the Central Government as well as aid agencies.

From 1985 the National Spiritual Assembly moved to upgrade the functioning of the New Era School Committee Trust (School Management Committee) with some excellent appointments and further defined the work of the school. The School benefited from the devoted labours of Mrs. Zia Mody (our former student) who functioned for several years as secretary and legal advisor. Her association and work on the committee put it on a firm course for future expansion and growth. The guidance from the World Centre and their encouragement played no small role in the forward march of our institution.

This period from 1983 onward also saw the development of the playing field on Kanga Hill, fulfilling a deep-felt need of the residential school, the construction of the Mohajer, Rezwan and Amreliwala dormitories with a total capacity of over 530 children, the vegetarian dining hall, the expansion of the playing field in the main campus, construction of the beautiful SE boundry wall, the completion of the amphitheater and the building of the large water purification plant. The number of students more than doubled to cross the one thousand mark.

Mrs. Mayura Iyengar joined the school in 1971 as a mathematics teacher in the Secondary Section. She has been serving as Vice-Principal since 1990. She said she has had the privilege of working with three principals-Dr. Ray Johnson, Dr. Vasudevan Nair and currently with Dr. A. H. Mehrassa.

Mrs. Sitara Vasudevan for many years worked hard as the superintendent in charge of the residential section. In 1998, Dr. and Mrs. Vasudevan retired and shifted their residence to Pune.

History