CHENNAI: Every year, five out of the Chennai corporation’s 34 higher secondary schools continue to rank among the best in the Class 12 board examinations. The Chennai Higher Secondary schools in Puliyur, Pulla Avenue, Subbarayan Street, Nesapakkam and Saidapet girls school secure the top five spots in terms of student pass percentages. What are they doing differently?
Dhakshinamurthy K, the headmaster of the Chennai Higher Secondary School in Puliyur, learnt quite early in his career that reproach or threats rarely work. “Many of our students, if you see, are not worried about getting shouted at by their parents or us. The only way you can get them to study is if they are interested. We make even the slowest of learners understand that they can pass the exam if they listen to us,” said Dhakshinamurthy, who became headmaster of the school in 2017. When he joined, the school had a pass percentage of around 87%.
Every year, there was a steady improvement, and this year the school has secured a 100% pass percentage. The co-ed school has 800 students. Their parents are mostly daily wage labourers. Apart from the corporation’s standard format of rigorous slip tests and monitoring student-teacher attendance, some of the schools also take measures of their own. The Puliyur school, for instance, had eight students who had appeared for 10 to 12 subjects this year, including Class 11 arrears.
R Muthu (name changed) who took exams for 10 subjects and cleared all of them said, “ I know that the teachers have only our best interests in mind, so I didn’t mind going to all the special classes. I had classes even on Saturdays and Sundays.”
According to Dakshinamurthy, securing the trust of students is what makes them tick. “We had a 14-year-old dropout. After dropping out, he worked at a butcher’s shop. We did everything to bring him back and it worked. The teachers deserve the credit for our good results. Coming to work on weekends and whenever they were needed was not easy,” he said. The corporation, under Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and the deputy commissioner (education), framed a system to rigorously monitor teacher attendance, slip test results, and student attendance every week. Since the system was brought in place, there has been a noticeable improvement in student performance, said officials.
“It was a challenge to retain the students after Covid-19, but commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi and deputy commissioner Sharanya Ari personally review the reports every Monday. We have 26 components under the system, primarily to monitor long absenteeism and teacher absenteeism,” said V Munian, assistant education officer.
For Chinnavellaithai N, headmistress of corporation girls’ higher secondary school in Pulla Avenue, the key was to form a system that worked. “After the mid-term tests, we categorise the students and once they do well, they jump categories. Many students take this as a challenge. I know all the girls in higher classes. I sit for the classes sometimes and hold regular counselling,” she said.