N. K. Ramachandran Menon

N. K. Ramachandran Menon was born in 1948 at Paravoor in Ernakulam district, Kerala, the son of M. G. N. Menon and Padmakshi Amma. He attended Vignana Vardhini School in Paravoor, then studied at St Albert's College and Maharaja's College in Ernakulam. At Maharaja's College he served as union secretary in 1967. After graduation he looked to the Gulf for work and settled in Kuwait in 1969.

Menon began as a banker with the National Bank of Kuwait, remaining there for about three decades, and later served as chief accountant at Gulf Bank. In 2000 he initiated bringing Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to the Middle East. The Indian Educational School (IES, Bhavans Kuwait) opened in 2006. Expansion followed into Abu Dhabi (2010), Al Ain (2014), Bahrain (2015), a second Kuwait school (2016), further Pearl Wisdom schools in Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah, early-years centres, and Pearl Heritage School in Abu Dhabi in 2026. As chairman of Bhavans Middle East he steered education and technology growth for the group. In early 2022 he was reported as the first Indian settled in Kuwait to receive a UAE Golden Visa.

Menon lived for decades in Kuwait while retaining close ties to Kerala. He is survived by his wife, Sudha Ramachandran, and their two children, Divya Rajesh Ramachandran and Sooraj Ramachandran, both chartered accountants based in the UAE. Divya serves as director of Bhavans Middle East and Sooraj as vice chairman. Public profiles described him as a man of principles who prized value-based education and mentorship of teachers.

Menon died on the morning of 30 September 2026 at EMC Hospital in Ernakulam, Kerala, aged 78. Malayalam reports said he had been under treatment for age-related illness. His family told Gulf News he had passed away on that Wednesday in Kerala. Last rites were held on 1 October 2026 at the family home in Aluva. Bhavans schools in the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain closed early that day; students held condolence assemblies, and principals and staff from across the group travelled to Kerala for the funeral.

Menon is remembered as the founder-chairman who planted Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan schooling in the Gulf and grew it into a multi-country network serving thousands of Indian-origin students. Colleagues called him a mentor who built people as well as institutions and who insisted that schools form character as well as academic skill. His children continue in the group's leadership, and tributes from principals across the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain stressed that his values would remain a guide for the schools.