CUDDALORE: Every student of the Government Higher Secondary School C Mutlur near Chidambaram has passed the Class 12 exams with flying colours thanks to the extra yards put in by its headmaster and other teachers towards achieving the target.
Students from fifteen villages are dependent on the school, which is situated near Cuddalore. It was a common sight this March to see students from Class 10 and 12 sitting in groups and not leaving the school in the evening, to learn the subjects. Unusual it might seem in a government school, each day, a subject teacher used to supervise them in the classes.
Speaking to TNIE, headmaster V Manivasagan said, "It was in 2019 that I started conducting the special classes. Usually, our school gets around 80% pass percentage, but that year it crossed 90%. After a gap of two years due to Covid lockdown, we restarted the special classes on March 2 this year and continued it till the exam."
Around 100 students from Class 10, and 80 from Class 12 attended the special classes. Manivasagam used to arrange snacks and tiffin for them. "I also fixed additional lights in the school premises," he added. He used to spend ₹6400 per day for the snacks and other expenses like mosquito coil and diesel for the van, which was arranged for students coming from faraway places. "In the first year, I spent from my own pocket. But this year, many came forward to support me. We gave priority to the safety of students, especially girl students, as parents trusted us. Only very few hesitated and didn't send their wards." he said.
R Sajini, a Class 10 student, said, "We were usually asked to do household work immediately after reaching home from school. It's only if we have time before sleep, we used to study. But with the classes, we got more time to study, and this improved our results." The school recorded 93% pass in the SSLC exam.
R Adithya, a Class 12 boy student, said, "We won't study at home as we always go to play outside or watch television or use mobile phones. The evening classes helped as respective subject teachers were there to clarify our doubts."
Apart from the 100% result, four students from the school scored more than 500 in the higher secondary exam.