CHENNAI: Malathy, a postgraduate English teacher, is nicknamed ‘100%’ for her track record of full-pass in all her classes, throughout a 17-year tenure. When she started working as a postgraduate teacher in 1998, at the age of 25, she was unsure of ways to make a difference in teaching.
“I remember a chief education officer (CEO) asking me to take a pledge that no students will fail in my subject. I took that pledge and have managed to keep it going for 17 years. I prioritised students who were slow learners. It is a simple strategy that has always worked like a charm. There have been cases where students who scored poorly in other subjects, managed to score over 80% in English,” a proud Malathy said. During her stint as a PG teacher, she also lent her voice to the ‘Hello English CD’ that was used in the government schools of Namakkal to improve students’ conversational English skills.
When she walked into the Perunagar Government Higher Secondary School in Kancheepuram after being promoted as the headmistress in 2017, she found the school’s conditions appalling. It was like a single-minded mission for her. She began to collect funds from NGOs and other donors to develop the school, undertaking projects worth Rs 2.5 crore in the school including removing invasive seemai karuvelam trees in the 2.5 acres around the school, planting saplings as well as painting the school. Malathy also revamped the classrooms with green boards, smartboards, and quality furniture. She also de-silted the well from which water supply was provided to the school. At Perunagar Government School, she was celebrated for dramatically improving the quality of teaching and the school’s infrastructure within three years.
At present, she serves as the headmistress of the Pathippaga Chemmal K Ganapathy Government Higher Secondary School in Kodambakkam and continues her journey of transforming students’ lives. In both schools, Malathy spent money out of her pocket to subscribe to an application that sends important messages and announcements from school, via phone calls to all parents. “Many children studying at government schools hail from economically backward families. Their parents work long hours and might not have time to keep track of their ward’s academic performance. Therefore, we keep them in the loop with the app which uses regular phone calls to send messages, making it easier for parents,” she said.
The resourceful teacher approached elected representatives and NGOs to get more funds during her period as headmistress at Perunagar, from 2017 to 2023. The school was later upgraded to a model government school. “Over 700 students had shifted to the school from private schools, while I was the headmistress there,” she said. Malathy is also a resource person for state-level training of school heads. She has also co-authored the headmaster’s guide that was released by the school education department.
She anticipates a herculean task ahead at the Pathippaga Chemmal K Ganapathy Government Higher Secondary School in Kodambakkam school, where she recently joined. “The enrolment of students in this school has reduced in the past decade. I would like to replicate my efforts back at Kancheepuram to improve infrastructure and quality of education, to increase enrolment. It is a gradual process and I have already started working towards that goal,” she said.
After being posted at Kodambakkam, she immediately took steps to prevent the entry of outsiders into the school grounds, to curb anti-social activities. The overhead tank here has been cleaned and other infrastructural upgrades are afoot. Malathy spends a part of her salary on the school’s development each month. “The financial status of the school was in dire straits when she joined as the principal in March. However, she insisted that even the usual fees should not be collected from students and was ready to do improvements at her own expense. Now, the morning assembly has become interactive and students’ academic performance has also improved, as parents are also able to keep track of their progress,” said N Radha, a teacher at the school. Inspired by Malathy’s endeavours, Radha too, contributed Rs 50,000 for the school to undertake activities like printing of applications forms among others.
Keeping the education officer’s pledge as her motto, Malathy always looks for ways to improve how education is imparted. Instead of limiting her vision to simply ensuring academic rigour from students, she looks to facilitate the comprehensive development of the institution, for a fulfilling educational experience.
(Edited by Rohith Sony)