A ‘class’ apart — thanks to teachers with a heart

TIRUVANNAMALAI:  Located near Sri Arunachaleswarar temple in the heart of the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, the Municipality Girls Government Model Higher Secondary School may look like any other government school. But the four walls proudly record incredible academic performance and are home to empathetic teachers who prioritise personal interactions with their students.

As expected, over the past few years, the classrooms’ benches have rapidly filled with children enthusiastic to learn, and admissions to the school are sought after by many. The number of students in the institute steadily rose from 2,119 in 2012-13, 3,973 in 2020-21 to 4,553 in 2021-22. At present, the Municipality Girls Government Model Higher Secondary School has the third highest number of students among government schools in Tamil Nadu, with a total strength of 4,173 students in the current academic year. In the past four years, more than 95% of students of Classes 10, 11, and 12 have successfully cleared their examinations.

Headmistress P Jothi Lakshmi credits the academic performance and the rise in admissions to the discipline that is critical to the school’s curriculum “The students are taught discipline first and then, academics. Children from around 180 villages around the city study here,” she says.  Another reason for this is the rare focus on teacher-student interactions at a personal level, and the well-being of the students.
“Not only that, we periodically interact with parents to keep them updated on their children’s progress.

One of the examples of this is the ‘Open House’ meeting, which is conducted once every two months. I personally interact with the parents and address their grievances. Apart from this, assistant headmaster D Pushpalatha conducts a meeting with class leaders to keep a check on the academic performance of all classes and to address any issues,” she elaborates. 

The school’s progress over the years is because of the trust the parents have in us, Jothi Lakshmi adds. A parent of a Class 9 student says, “One of the primary concerns of all parents is safety. This school is safe and I admitted my daughter in Class 6.” 

The headmistress says, “A student cannot leave the campus during the school hours. If there is any medical emergency, we either inform the parents or admit the kids to a nearby hospital, depending on the situation.”

The school also encourages eligible students to take part in competitions and initiates steps to ensure government schemes reach them. “Many students from our school have cleared the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam and National Talent Search Examination (NTSE),” the HM says. She further states the campus struggles to accommodate the growing number of students, and additional space would lead to better management. 

Recently, after inspecting the school, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the TN Legislative Assembly K Selvaperunthagai called on the HM and lauded her for the performance of the school.

TIRUVANNAMALAI:  Located near Sri Arunachaleswarar temple in the heart of the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, the Municipality Girls Government Model Higher Secondary School may look like any other government school. But the four walls proudly record incredible academic performance and are home to empathetic teachers who prioritise personal interactions with their students. As expected, over the past few years, the classrooms’ benches have rapidly filled with children enthusiastic to learn, and admissions to the school are sought after by many. The number of students in the institute steadily rose from 2,119 in 2012-13, 3,973 in 2020-21 to 4,553 in 2021-22. At present, the Municipality Girls Government Model Higher Secondary School has the third highest number of students among government schools in Tamil Nadu, with a total strength of 4,173 students in the current academic year. In the past four years, more than 95% of students of Classes 10, 11, and 12 have successfully cleared their examinations. Headmistress P Jothi Lakshmi credits the academic performance and the rise in admissions to the discipline that is critical to the school’s curriculum “The students are taught discipline first and then, academics. Children from around 180 villages around the city study here,” she says.  Another reason for this is the rare focus on teacher-student interactions at a personal level, and the well-being of the students. “Not only that, we periodically interact with parents to keep them updated on their children’s progress. One of the examples of this is the ‘Open House’ meeting, which is conducted once every two months. I personally interact with the parents and address their grievances. Apart from this, assistant headmaster D Pushpalatha conducts a meeting with class leaders to keep a check on the academic performance of all classes and to address any issues,” she elaborates.  The school’s progress over the years is because of the trust the parents have in us, Jothi Lakshmi adds. A parent of a Class 9 student says, “One of the primary concerns of all parents is safety. This school is safe and I admitted my daughter in Class 6.”  The headmistress says, “A student cannot leave the campus during the school hours. If there is any medical emergency, we either inform the parents or admit the kids to a nearby hospital, depending on the situation.” The school also encourages eligible students to take part in competitions and initiates steps to ensure government schemes reach them. “Many students from our school have cleared the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) exam and National Talent Search Examination (NTSE),” the HM says. She further states the campus struggles to accommodate the growing number of students, and additional space would lead to better management.  Recently, after inspecting the school, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the TN Legislative Assembly K Selvaperunthagai called on the HM and lauded her for the performance of the school.