13th May, Kolkata:
National High School in Kolkata got an annexe building at its Hazra Road campus, and students were given a reminder of the school’s founders who have been putting in hard work and dedication to ensure quality education for future generations.
N. R. Iyer Memorial Education Society inaugurated an annexe building and unveiled a bust of the founders of the Society on 13th May, at which His Excellency the Governor of West Bengal Sri Keshari Nath Tripathi was present.
The N. R. Iyer Memorial Education Society was formed by South Indian residents in Kolkata in January 1935 with the objective of taking over the Anglo-Tamil School founded in 1913 by the Tamil speaking people, and promoting the cause of education primarily for South Indian children in Kolkata. The Anglo-Tamil School was elevated to a high school in January 1938 and was named National High School.
The school received recognition from Calcutta University in 1939, and in 1940, the first batch of students appeared for the Matriculation Examination.
“This is a joyous occasion for us as we inaugurate an annexe building and get a bust of our founders,” said Mr. S. Radhakrishnan, President of The Governing Body, N. R. Iyer Memorial Education Society. “We are constantly focused on ways to enrich the education of children in National High School, and the annexe building is the latest addition to that end.
Further, the bust of our Society’s founders will serve as a reminder of the long journey we have undertaken to reach the present day, and inculcate a sense of pride and belonging in students.”
The primary and secondary sections of the school were housed in the Society’s building at 164, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata. At the beginning, the secondary section ran as a co-educational school, but in 1960 it was divided into two sections, one for boys and other for girls.
The boys section moved to the Society’s new building at 42/1, Hazra Road, Kolkata in 1964. The kindergarten section was started in 1974, at 164, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata. The boys school has a primary section attached to it since 1979. Higher Secondary Curriculum (Plus two course) was added to both the high schools when the course was introduced by the Government. A Montessori section was added in 1988 in the boys’ school. Both schools are managed by the N R Iyer Memorial Education Society.
The primary section attached to the girls’ school has been granted recognition by the Government of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and higher secondary by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.
Till 1964, the medium of instruction in the primary section was Tamil, while it was English in the secondary section from inception. At present the medium of instruction in both the schools from kindergarten to higher secondary is English with Tamil or Hindi as first language. In order to promote the three language formula adopted by the Government of India, Tamil is being taught as a third language for all the students at the primary level. Both schools have well-equipped laboratories and libraries., and have a total of approximately 3,500 students.