KOCHI: The boys-only Sree Rama Varma Government Model High School will start admitting girls from the 2024-25 academic year, heralding a new era for Kochi’s first school established in 1845.
The state government issued an order in that regard on Friday after the SRV school authorities submitted a request to the education department. Currently, the school follows the co-ed system in the lower primary, higher secondary and vocational higher secondary sections. The upper primary and high school sections were open only for boys. Currently, there are no co-ed government high schools in Kochi city.
According to the government order, the school now has all the infrastructure necessary to accommodate female students. Another factor that played a positive role is the decision of the PTA executive committee to convert the school into a co-ed one. In the petition to the education department, it was also pointed out that the Kochi corporation had approved the proposal submitted by the standing committee for education and sports to turn the SRV school into a mixed one.
It was also reported that the school had only a small number of boys in classes VIII, IX and X. As per the data provided by the school, at present, there are 54 students in high school, 353 students in the higher secondary school section and 119 students in the vocational higher secondary section.
The location of the school, right in the heart of the city, also played a positive part in the government's decision to improve the number of admissions to the school, given that transportation won’t be a problem for girls.