The Government Central High School, Attakulangara, is now only a shadow of its former self, with its infrastructure crumbling and the number of students dwindling.
Despite such dire circumstances, all 18 students who appeared for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination from the school this year have emerged victorious, a considerable feat since this is for the first time in over a decade that the school has achieved 100 per cent pass.
The headmistress, teachers, members of the School Samrakshana Samithi and representatives of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) had joined forces to ensure that every single student who attended the SSLC examinations from the school passed.
Encouraging featHeadmistress Susamma George said that the students’ feat was an encouraging development for the staff as well as they were working with barely any facilities to help the students.
“The school has been termed ‘uneconomic’ and written off as an unviable institution. We wanted to prove the naysayers wrong by managing this achievement even in such as adverse environment,” she said.
The 125-year-old school that once boasted of a student strength of over 2,000 is barely noticeable now with buses parking right in front of the school gate.
The headmistress was grateful to the former students who had been actively seeking measures to uplift the school from its present situation.
Supportive alumniThe former students have come out against, what they allege, attempts on the part of the government to neglect and ‘slowly poison the school’ to a stage when it will have to be shut down. They, under the banner of the School Samrakshana Samithi, put in place a proper gate for the school.
“The school is not secure. Anti-social elements have vandalised the classrooms and stolen items such as tubelights, taps and pipes inside the school on many occasions,” Ms. George said.
She cited a recent incident when a statue of Lord Buddha on the school premises was found broken.
A case in this regard has been registered at the Fort police station.
A long heritageThe School Samrakshana Samithi and Tree Walk, who have also been engaged in preserving the school’s heritage and premises, had suggested forming clubs that would draw students from other schools as well.
PTA president P.S. Gopakumar, whose son Vishnu is among the students who passed, said that there were teachers from other institutions who came in to take extra classes here on weekends.
He hoped that this accomplishment would herald a positive change and prove an incentive for parents to enrol their children to the school.
