Urdu medium schools manage to make a mark

​Vijayawada: The Urdu medium high schools run by Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) are weathering the storm of corporate threat in old city with quality education as its survival technique.

The Urdu schools could retain their identity, surviving the increasing public craze for convent education, thanks to unstinted patronage from the Muslim community.

However, the patronage seems to be much more from the VMC in providing basic amenities like toilets in some schools.

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HIGHLIGHTS:

• By and large, nearly 1000 students are studying in Urdu Medium schools, in all
• The oldest school - Moulana Abul Kalam Azad VMC Urdu Medium High School- set up in 1955, with nearly 250 students, got 98 percent in the SSC Public examination 2016 March
• During the academic year 2015-16, two high Schools- SMA Khuddus Urdu Medium High School in Bhavanipuram and APJ Abdul Kalam High school in Arundelpet achieved 100 per cent pass percentage

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The feel-good factor could be seen in retention of student enrollments in the Urdu schools. The VMC is running three Urdu medium high schools and one upper primary school in different parts of the city.

During the academic year 2015-16, two high Schools SMA Khuddus Urdu Medium High School in Bhavanipuram and APJ Abdul Kalam High school in Arundelpet achieved 100 per cent pass percentage while the third High School Moulana Abul Kalam Azad High school got 98 percent in the SSC Public examination 2016 March.

These Urdu medium schools help students learn subjects like Maths, Science, Social and English besides learning mother tongue Urdu. They are prospering with good student intake in the backdrop of mushrooming English-medium convents and corporate educational institutions around.

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and the staff are jointly making efforts to promote Urdu education in these schools. When majority of parents belonging to middle class and rich families are opting for corporate schools, thousands of Muslim families are still holding on to these Urdu media schools so as to take forward their mother tongue for the posterity.

The VMC has constructed pucca buildings for these schools as part of its efforts to promote education in the city. SMA Khuddus High School has been functioning for the last 10 years in Bhavanipuram and helping thousands of local Muslim children to pursue education in mother tongue Urdu. The school was earlier located on BRP Road in one town and it was shifted to Bhavanipuram at the request of the locals 10 years ago.

School Head Master Umar Ali has said the Urdu Medium high school is extremely useful to local Muslim students, who want to pursue education in Urdu medium. He said the School achieves more than 90 per cent pass percentage in SSC public examination for the last few years.

Meanwhile, the school has no toilet facility for the boys, who are going to the banks of Krishna River to attend the nature’s calls. Girl students are depending on the nearby Urdu elementary school for the same purpose. School students said that they had been facing many problems due to lack of toilet facility.

Moulana Abul Kalam Azad VMC Urdu Medium High School in One town was set up in 1955 and is the oldest Urdu Medium High School in Krishna district. Nearly 250 students are studying in the School with pass percentage crossing more than 90. The English medium education started in the School four years ago is also attracting local Muslim children.

APJ Abdul Kalam High School located in Arundelpet is the third high School established in the city to impart education in Urdu medium. Since the school was formed in busy commercial area, the admissions are rather low in the school. By and large, nearly 1000 students are studying in Urdu Medium schools, in all.