The National Primary School is located on the busy Telugu Brahmin Street and is managed by the family of A.S.Rama Rao (1896 - 1983). The school was founded by his father Srinivasa Rao in the year 1883 with the sole aim of educating the poor.
Srinivasa Rao the advocate was a rare gem in the society of his times. It was a time when India had been oppressed by the British and they were using every technique to demean the culture, faith and skills of all the Indians. It required a lot of guts to start a school at a time when people would hesitate to take up a progressive path during the period of enslavement.
Coimbatore had just emerged out of the great famine and the people had suffered enormously due to the same. Visionaries like Srinivasa Rao understood the need for education and he understood clearly that unless the poorest of the poor are empowered both academically and financially real freedom would not be possible.
The people of the old town or the Pettai area used to flock to the National Primary School which had offered both knowledge and wisdom at a time when Janopakara Bank had just been inaugurated by Sadasiva Mudaliar. In fact the C.S& W Mills and the Indian National Congress were yet to happen.
National Primary School was recognized in the year 1908 and has been active for 135 years now. A.S.Rama Rao and his policeman brother A.S.Narayana Rao (1900 - 1990) managed the school with aplomb for decades and A.N.Subba Rao, the award winning Deputy Commissioner of Police followed his elders. Now Lakshmi Subba Rao is the Secretary and the school committee consists of A.N.Rajaram (Correspondent), A.N.Parthasarathy, A.S.Raghuram and A.S.Venugopal from the founder’s family.
In addition the Headmistress Mrs. Rajam a recipient of the Dr.S. Radhakrishnan Award or the Manila Nallasiriyar Virudhu, the Teachers including R.Indumathi, N.Selvi, R.Ramani, H.Bernadict Selvarani, P.Devaki and the PTA leader V.Umalakshmi are on the committee. The school is an aided school and does not charge even a paisa in any form from the students at any given time.
“Our aim is to give good children and enlightened young generation for the city. We focus on complete education and make sure that ethics, morals, etiquette and hygiene are looked into compulsorily. The student should be free from fear and we ensure that. Each of our kids can sing the National Anthem, Tamil Thai Vazhthu and also recite the “Sugadhara Urudhimozhi" (a pledge for hygiene) really well.
“It is compulsory that the kids learn old proverbs and listen to stories which share good morals. The medical tips given to children are shared with the parents too. The results are quite encouraging. All our children are good and they recite the multiplication tables fabulously. A number of them have won Thirukkural contests. The handwriting of each and every child is good. The school has been able to take care of remedial children by giving them a chance in the mainstream. Right Tamil with good faith is delivered to the kids and they want to help the school on growing up. A number of students from this school are settledall over the world All the teachers here are trying their best and even extra tuition is given absolutely free of charge for the academically weaker children during the after hours, “stated Mrs. Rajam, the ebullient Head Mistress who has been donning the mantle for the past two decades.
It was a pleasant surprise to meet some of the kids and listen to their rendering of couplets from Thirukkural or the Tamil Thai Vazhthu or the multiplication tables or proverbs or a speech on womens' empowerment.
Yes, a number of kids from this school have gone up to the district level in chess while also winning in a number of elocution contests. The good quality Tamil education or learning via the mother tongue seems to be helping the kids. Is it not a fact that a number of educators have been stating that let everyone learn through their mother tongue and let English first be taught as a language before becoming a medium of instruction?
The "Ponmozhigal" (proverbs) rendered by B. Saravanan would leave one spell bound and the speech on womens empowerment by J.Bhavadharini of Class five will surely mesmerize the listener. Her body language, confidence, expression, diction and delivery will surely bowl one over for good. Mariswaran the kid wants to be a “Maruthuvar" (Doctor) and he speaks chaste Tamil while chiding his friend affectionately by suggesting that he use the word " Kavalkaran" instead of the word "Policeman"! M.Karthika and A.Shanmughapriya rendered a number of couplets from the Thirukkural flawlessly and their lives are sure to create positive ripples in the society. Everyone from Coimbatore will find it a pleasure to visit the school and interact with the both - the kids and the teachers.
The school is endowed with the mid-day meals scheme brought in by the Late Chief Minister M.G.Ramachandran and the teachers go further than that. “Whenever we discover that a child is attending classes without breakfast we ensure that he or she are fed well. We get them some idlis and sambar in order to free them from hunger. Is not breakfast the most important meal? All of us spend some money for getting a special meal on special occasions when we celebrate our birthday or wedding day with our families. Are not the 150 kids in this school our family too ?, added Mrs Rajam, the energetic Head Mistress who has a three decade teaching experience behind her. They serve biriyani and sarkarai Pongal on such special occasions.
“Our elders were great people and they wanted to give something back to the society through the ’National Primary School'. The school was begun as charity and it will continue to be one. Our elder A.S.Rama Rao was a teacher those days and he was given permission to run the school as Correspondent and did so for more than five decades. My grandfather A.S.Narayan Rao was in the CBCID and my dad was an award winning cop during his times. Our family continues to financially support the school without any advertisement whatsoever. We understand that the noninvasive and subtle manner of contributing to the society is healthy for everyone concerned. Earlier we had classes up to standard eight but now it’s only up to class five for we want to focus on the quality before anything else, “said A.S.Raghuram from the founder’s family who runs a textile business in Tiruppur.
A.S. Raghuram travels from Peelamedu to Tirupur every day and visits the school regularly. It’s gratifying to learn that the descendants of the noble teacher A.S.Rama Rao are following his footsteps. Those were the days when the family lived in Edayar Street and the school had the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha as it's neighbor.
Schools like the “National Primary School“ are the real schools for the poor and its time that we recognize and support such institutions doing yeomen service to our nation.