240 years on, a school strives to provide quality education
Established in 1783, it was formerly known
as P.T. School and later renamed as Presidency High School for Girls in 1939. The student strength today has come down to a little over 700 from a high of 5,000 once.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
The teachers at the Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School at Egmore are focussing on improving admission.
“There was a time when there were queues around the school for a seat during the admission season. We had recorded over 5,000 admissions those days. Today, the number has come down to just 700-odd students,” says principal M.M. Ramalakshmi.
Established in 1783, it was formerly known as P.T. School and was later renamed as Presidency High School for Girls in 1939. According to The Hindu Archives, the school started out with just 10 students and three staff members at George Town. At its inception, it was the Government Normal School for Women with the Tamil and Telugu medium of instruction. Admission was restricted to caste Hindus.
Soon after, students of other communities were admitted. Later, it was renamed as The Presidency Training School for Mistresses and offered training to pupils in the English, Tamil and Telugu sections.
Teacher training institution
As the English section increased, the pupils were prepared for the matriculation examination. From 1913, the school functioned as a teacher training institution, under the name Government European Training School for Women. Later, the school was renamed as the Presidency High School for Girls, according to The Hindu Archives.
“Only about five years ago did we stop classes in the Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi medium of instruction as the teachers retired. However, there are students even today who have opted for the Malayalam and Hindi medium. They are tested through other minority schools in the area for the first language,” the principal says.
Upgraded as a model school
Only in 2018 did the school begin admission of boys and introduced a kindergarten section as it was upgraded as a model school. “The school is invested in women empowerment and had Classes 6-12 for women in the beginning. As it was made into a model school, it became a co-ed and kindergarten classes were introduced. But, from this year, we will remain a girls school for Classes 6-12. Boys are admitted only until Class 5,” the principal adds.
The decision was taken as the teachers found it difficult to manage the boys after age 13. “We were not able to handle them as the boys would be boisterous and we weren’t equipped for it,” Ms. Ramalakshmi says.
The aim this year has been not to deny admission to any student. “We have the capacity and we also know the legacy of this school. We offer various extra-curricular activities, too, such as football and ‘Silambam’, to attract students to our school. But since most low-income groups have moved to the city limits, schools like ours are suffering as most parents go in search of private schools,” she adds.
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