She started a crèche with a diminutive 17 students in the year 1992 and today after two decades of tireless effort, she has been successful in raising an edifice of learning that has etched a mark of its own. Meet Poly Patnaik, the woman who has been the pillar of strength in moulding the Mother’s Public School into one of the best academic institutions the state can be proud of. Today, the school boasts of a student strength of 2000 who have been proving their mettle in academics year after year.
Mother’s Public School (MBS) has outshone all other schools in academics this year. Did you envisage this to happen?
At MPS, students are parented by teachers. We are all like a family. We work together and identify students’ strength and weakness. Every student is capable; they just need to realise their potential. Students and teachers have worked hand in hand to take the school where it is placed today.
Sometime back a student from our school was traumatised and dehydrated by the accidental death of his friend. He was hospitalised. It was just before the English board exam. The English teacher read him the English text book and taught him in the hospital. It was the initiative by the teacher herself. That is how connected teachers are to students here.
The school was the first to introduce day boarding and integrating tutorials along with regular classes for students. How did the idea occur to you?
When I initially started the school I was a lecturer in a college. As a result I could not give much time to my son. I did not want to leave him with a maid so I decided to make my school a day boarding school so that working mothers could leave their children at a safe place where their needs are fulfilled.
Similarly, the year 2005 was the first batch that appeared Plus Two. I realized students used to go all the way to Cuttack to get Kota coaching for IIT. I spoke to a lot of people and they suggested FIT-JEE or PIE. FIT-JEE became too expensive, so I decided to introduce PIE Tutorial in my school so that a student wishing to prepare for IIT can join the tutorial during school hours. In 2010, we introduced Akash classes as well for medical aspirants.
Lets go back in time. Tell us how your dream turned a reality?
When young, our house was near BJB English Medium school and then later we shifted near Venkateswar English medium School. I grew up seeing those two schools. Later, I became a teacher in Sunabeda and used to love being in company of children. In fact, staying around with children always made me feel young. So I dreamt of having a school of my own. It all started little by little and with lot of hardwork. I tried to give shape to my dreams and today the school stands tall and speaks for itself.
Why school? Why not something else which was more easy?
I never build the school with the idea of minting money. Neither did I have any resources. The school started with Prakrit which was a thatched house that rendered to the needs of little kids who were as small as eight months old. Whatever little came as profit was reinvested in the extension of the school. Every year I started increasing one class. And little by little, the school was sculpted. Being with students makes me feel good and there is always so much to learn from each child. The school is like a family for me.
Some call you an educationist, others an entrepreneur. What would you like to be identified as?
Neither. I am just a mother. I enjoy being with children. I like to know children better, understand them. I respect their decision. This school helps children with their needs. It sees through their requirement to improve and do better. There are so many social causes that my school supports. The locality children are being taught for free by some students from the school. Some mothers in the vicinity are given food once a month and addressed to a doctor free of cost with maternity and health care support.
What next?
I’m planning to provide hostel facilities for students as there are many who come from various parts of Orissa and other states like Jharkhand and Bihar. Besides I have planned to build another school in Puri by the end of this year or beginning of 2013.