Lucknow, September 25 : In a matter of pride for the country and the city, Dr Jagdish Gandhi, Founder of City Montessori School, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Social Science Honoris Causa by Queen’s University Belfast, UK.

            The citation of the Honorary Doctorate read, “Dr Gandhi is a world-renowned educationist and a true visionary in his field. He co-founded (with his wife Dr Bharti Gandhi) the City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow, India, in 1959.  Sixty years later, the school has grown from 5 pupils to 55,000 and is recognised as the world’s largest school.  Size, however, is not its distinguishing feature but rather the global citizenship focus, which underpins CMS’s educational ethos. Dr Gandhi has crafted meaningful initiatives to create a wider set of circumstances for peace and conflict prevention at a local, national and international level, including 28 international events aimed at inspiring world unity.”

            Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, conferred the degree on Dr Gandhi for his distinguished services to education. Dr Gandhi’s daughter Nita Gandhi Forouhi who is Professor of Medicine at the University of Cambridge, received the award on Dr Gandhi’s behalf as he could not attend the ceremony in person.

            Expressing happiness, Dr Gandhi said, “I am humbled to receive this honour. It is great recognition for the entire CMS family and the belief that our parents and citizens of Lucknow have placed in us. This recognition has been possible because of our dedicated teachers and brilliant students who have put the school on the world map and earned global acclaim with their enormous achievements.”

            Previously Dr Gandhi has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Ufa, Russia; University of Conception del Uruguay and the University of Mendoza, Argentina; Inca Garcilaso University, Peru; and the National University of Mongolia.

            For more information, please see the website of Queen's University Belfast - https://www.qub.ac.uk/home/chancellor-installation-ceremony/honorary-graduands/