Sister Cyril, pioneer in school education, dies

Kolkata: Sister Cyril , an educator who worked for the underprivileged for several decades here and a former principal of Loreto Sealdah, has died. She was 86. The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Loreto Residence, in Entally here, said she died on Saturday.

Known for her innovative methods of teaching and providing education to rural and urban underprivileged children, Sister Cyril was the principal of Loreto Sealdah here for 32 years. A Padma Shri awardee in 2007, she pioneered the 'Rainbow' project in 1983 in which students of English medium schools taught financially backward children after regular school hours.

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The Ireland-born nun, who was in her 69th year of religious life, had come to Kolkata, then Calcutta, in 1956 and made the city her home since then. Sister Cyril was staying at an old age home for nuns in Entally area. She was also a member of various advisory committees on education in the state after her retirement as principal of Loreto Sealdah.