About Us
The Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) School is named in honor of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the visionary founder of the Arya Samaj movement in India. A prominent 19th-century Hindu reformer, Swami Dayanand championed the transformative power of education as the key to social upliftment. He established schools that welcomed students regardless of religion, caste, or gender—an idea that was considered revolutionary, even radical, in a time when educating women
and marginalized communities was uncommon in India.
Today, DAV has grown into the largest network of schools across India, a testament to Swami Dayanand’s enduring legacy.
During the early 20th century, as Indian communities migrated to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Mauritius, and Fiji, they carried with them Swami Dayanand’s ideals of education and social reform. The Arya Samaj was established in Singapore in 1927, and by 1930, its members had initiated Hindi and English classes under the DAV banner.
With the rise of publicly funded English-medium education in the 1950s, DAV shifted its focus toward the promotion and teaching of Hindi. At the time, Hindi was not included in the mainstream curriculum of public schools in Singapore, prompting the local Hindi-speaking community to advocate for formal education in the language. Responding to this need, the DAV Hindi School was officially registered in 1957.
However, the school initially lacked proper facilities. Fundraising efforts were led by dedicated community members who successfully rallied support from the Hindi-speaking community. Their efforts culminated in the laying of the foundation stone for a three-storey building at Syed Alwi Road in 1963.
Despite these strides, the number of students studying Hindi remained modest through the 1960s to the late 1980s, as Hindi was not yet officially recognized as a "mother tongue" in Singapore’s national curriculum. This changed in 1989, when then-Minister for Education Dr. Tony Tan announced that Hindi could be offered as a Second Language for the GCE “O” Level examination. This policy shift marked a turning point, revitalizing interest in Hindi language learning across the nation.
Since the year 2000, DAV’s growth has been nothing short of remarkable. From just 150 students, the school now serves over 3,600 students across nine centres and more than 40 parallel schools throughout Singapore. With a dedicated team of 130 teachers and 10 full-time administrators, DAV has become not only the oldest Hindi school in Singapore, but also a leading institution for the teaching of Hindi as a mother tongue.
What sets DAV apart is its commitment to holistic and values-based education. Students are not only taught the language but are also immersed in Indian culture and traditions. Through participation in festivals, music, dance, drama, and the learning of classical Indian instruments, students develop a deep appreciation of their heritage. At DAV, we aim to foster friendships, strengthen cultural roots, and cultivate a love for learning—ensuring that every child’s journey with Hindi is enriching and joyful.
