TIRUCHY: A government school in Tiruchy, which once counted its students on its fingers, has successfully increased strength from 20 to 300 students in the past four years. The Municipal Primary School in Puthur was rewarded with three Tamil Nadu state education awards on Sunday for its remarkable turnaround and academic innovation.
P Amsavalli, headmistress of the school, was honoured with the Arignar Anna Award for school leadership (Rs 10 lakh), the Professor Anbazhagan Award for overall school performance, and the 100-Day Reading Challenge Award for ensuring 100% reading proficiency among students.
The student admission significantly increased post Covid-19 pandemic, when many families pulled their children out of private schools due to unaffordable fees. “We used that opportunity to prove what a government school can truly deliver.
Even if our school was far from city centres, we made sure our students participated in every competition and science exhibition, and they returned with prizes,” Amsavalli added. The school has introduced smart classrooms, a mini play area, two compact libraries, and a main library despite a limited space.
The library is designed to engage even hesitant readers, where students must talk for two minutes about any book before borrowing another. In 2023, the school was upgraded to a two-storey building at a cost of Rs 90 lakh by the city corporation. The school has 10 permanent teachers and another 10 staff on a temporary basis.
The HM believes that after the upgrade, the school strength jumped from 150 to 300. “Many working-class parents struggled to guide their children at home, so we focused on building strong basic maths, English grammar, and reading. As words on teaching quality spread, this year alone, over 10 students shifted from private schools to join us.
That, I believe, helped the officials recognise our efforts with these awards.” To strengthen language learning, the school has created its own spoken English course book which is distributed for free among students. “During events, we encourage the students to take over the stage. Speaking in front of peers builds confidence and pride in learning,” said N Kavitha a PTA teacher who authored the English course book.
“Both my kids have been studying here from the beginning. We could have chosen private schools, but we saw how well they were learning without any extra help,” said Sethu Karthik, a School Management Committee member and parent. The members of the school management committee and teachers plan to use the Rs 10 lakh to set up CCTV cameras and to buy chairs and additional learning infrastructure.