–Photo: K. RAMESH BABU

Beating stereotypes: Government Boys’ Primary and High School at Amberpet.

HYDERABAD: In the days when education in government schools is vilified to the extent of being considered equivalent to illiteracy, the Government Boys’ Primary and High School at Amberpet differs from the stereotypical image.

The beige coloured building inside the Central Police Lines bustles with children and stands as an irrefutable evidence of the fact that given proper infrastructure, government schools can do wonders. It also bolsters the demand for setting up more such government schools in all underprivileged pockets of the city.

It has been only one year since the school shifted to the new building at Amberpet from its dilapidated rented premises at Kachiguda. Shifting was done after the owner asked the school to vacate. About 200 pupils were sent home with transfer certificates (TCs).

However, the brand-new building constructed with SSA funds and complete with power connection, toilets and drinking water facilities brought renewed hopes. Admissions shot up after due canvassing by the staff. The first year saw about 900 students joining the school, while in the current year the numbers are even better.

“We have 1,000 students in the primary section and 350 students in the high school. The admissions are still on and we are expecting more students,” says the Head Master of the High School section A. Maruti Krishna with a beaming face.

What adds more to the excitement is the fact that the school topped the whole of Himayath Nagar zone with 80 per cent results in SSC. This, for a school with mere 24 per cent result in 2001-02! There are hardly any dropouts.

One reason for the increase in admissions, the in-charge Head Mistress of Primary School Nafees Akhtar says, is the availability of English medium.

Existence of many slums such as Batukamma Kunta, Patel Nagar and Ahmed Nagar around the school helped too.

“Previously, the area had only Telugu medium schools that did not find takers even among slum dwellers who would shell out big amounts to send their children to private schools.

After we shifted here, strength in surrounding private schools dwindled by 50 to 60 per cent,” Ms. Akhtar said. The erosion has reached 80 to 90 per cent this year, she says.

With increased admissions, the school authorities are finding it difficult to accommodate students within the available space.

Also, the primary school is appallingly understaffed with only five teachers and three ayahs. The staff had to be supplemented by Vidya Volunteers last year.

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