Latest news with #ProfessorAnbazhaganAward
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Super 300: Government school bags three TN awards for academic turnaround
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.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
100 schools get Arignar Anna leadership award
Headmasters of 100 schools in the State have been selected for the Arignar Anna Leadership Award for excelling in various parameters fixed by the School Education Department. They were selected by a State-level committee based on various parameters pertaining to the 2023-24 academic year. Overall development of the school, performance of students in education, performance in sports, infrastructure development, Illam Thedi Kalvi and activities of school management association were among the parameters. Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru and Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi distributed the awards to the headmasters at a function here on Sunday. Collector V. Saravanan was present. The schools associated with the respective award winners were given ₹10 lakh each. Similarly, 76 schools in the State were given the Professor Anbazhagan Award for the best performance. The headmasters of the schools received the awards and ₹10 lakh each for the development of their respective school. Government Higher Secondary School, Paranthur, Kancheepuram district, St. Joseph's Girls Government Aided School, Tiruvarur, Government Higher Secondary School, Valadi in Tiruchi district, Municipal High School, Erode and Government High School, Kondamanaiyakkanpatti in Theni district were given Mission Nature award for promoting environmental activities for 2024-25 year.
