In 1950, students aimed at holistic personality development through education. There used to be more fun and less stress, increased student engagement and minimal distractions, zero dependence on virtual world and more outdoor games. The comparison between the older and younger generations seems to be endless.
Sharing their experiences and reminiscing the days where their skills in different spheres stood out despite tough competition, a total of 150 old students of Mahatma Gandhi Municipal High School (MGM High School) met at Vaisakhi Jala Udyanavanam to commemorate the 17th annual celebrations of the school’s Old Students’ Association.
There was a lot of excitement in the air when a group of friends spoke on how their school provided them a ground to groom themselves and helped them follow the concept of learning and unlearning while achieving their goals. “Most of our batch mates held high positions in various departments, PSUs and private sectors. Some of us are practising advocates. Whatever we have achieved, we attribute it to our profound education system,” says Kandala Srinivasa Rao, a senior advocate and president of the association.
Other than the drill classes what engaged Y.V.S.R. Murthy, who passed out SSLC in 1952, was the news-reading sessions. He says, “Before our day begins, we used to take turns in reading international, national and regional news on a daily basis. It aided in enhancing our world view at an early age.”
Education was never stressful in those days and students of MGM High School would vouch for it. “We had drama classes where we used to stage ‘Burra Katha’ and playlets. Outdoor games and drama sessions would de-stress us to a great extent. Unfortunately, today’s youngsters do not find time for such recreations,” says D. Narasimha Rao, an 80-year-old drama artiste who is part of the association.
ScholarshipsAs a gesture of support to the meritorious students who cannot afford to pay their term fee, the association members offered scholarships to 15 students of the school.
