The century-long journey of a government school in Polur

From huts to smart classrooms, the Govt. Boys Higher Secondary School has come a long way

N. Subramanian, an alumnus of the school, interacts with the current teachers on Monday. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

During his school days, N. Subramanian used to attend classes in one of the huts at the century-old Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Polur, around 45 km from Tiruvannamalai town.

The huts were classrooms for lower classes. A few brick classrooms were reserved for higher classes, especially Class 10 students. Back then, Mr. Subramanian used to eagerly await the day he would leave behind the hut to attend classes in the brick classroom. This finally happened in March 1961, when he was promoted to Class 10.

Mr. Subramanian, now 79 and a father of three, got the chance to sit on the same bench where he took his Class X lessons decades ago. He was at the school on Monday to honour its 34 teachers, including the headmaster, to mark Teachers’ Day. “We walked barefoot for around 8 km from Kuruvimalai village to the school. Took shelter under the tamarind trees on the sandy pathway during rain. Going to school was tough for us then,” he said.

Along the school’s narrow corridor, five classrooms and the headmaster’s cabin still retain their old charm, with Madras roofing, arch-shaped pillars and grill gates. Except the headmaster’s cabin, the other British era rooms are now used as staff rooms and storage areas.

During the school’s initial years, it functioned out of a few huts on the same campus, teaching till Class 7 in October 1920, with S. Natesan as its first headmaster. The school was upgraded to a high school in 1924, highlighting the need to have concrete classrooms at least for the Class 10 students. In 1926, five classrooms with a headmaster’s cabin were built on the spacious 10-acre plot at the centre of Pulur. Three decades later, in 1957, additional classrooms were built, mainly for lower classes. Concrete classrooms slowly replaced the huts in the school. The school was further upgraded to higher secondary level in 1978.

Now, the school contains 25 classrooms, including a smart classroom with tiled flooring, steel benches and modern writing boards for its 1,036 students. Science laboratories, a library, an auditorium and a playground with volleyball and basketball fields have also come up.

As for academics, the pass percentage in board examinations at the school has been around 90% for at least a decade. This has helped increase its annual enrolment by at least 20%. “The alumni of the school were responsible for the modern facilities, like the tiled floors. Their contribution is endless,” said S. Jothi, the 50^th headmaster of the school.