Keying up the knowledge-hungry

Secunderabad: Though originally set up as an army camp by the British way back in 1806, Secunderabad has its own distinct culture as a cosmopolitan township that is way different from its twin – Hyderabad – on the other side of Hussainsagar lake.

Thanks to the British presence for quite a long time in Leshkar, as it was known during the early days, Secunderabad has several education institutions run by Christian missionaries. But making its own mark, Keyes High School for Girls, one of the oldest educational establishments in Secunderabad, has an impressive and glorious history to narrate.

An institution or a person with an identity does not require any form of introduction. But there are certain ‘histories’ which form part of our day-to-day life and therefore it becomes important that we keep it passed on to our next generation.

One such ‘history’ of Secunderabad which has been transforming the lives of many since 1881 is Keyes High School for Girls. The school was established by Venu Gopal Pillai in five to six different locations of Secunderabad as a ‘primary school’. Having known the importance of education, Venu Gopal Pillai was committed to the cause of imparting the same among girls. He used to go door-to-door to pick up his students in a bullock cart and bring them to school.

The Principal of the school Gnanasiri told The Hans India, “Deewan Bahadur Padma Rao Mudaliar wanted to institutionalise the efforts of Venu Gopal Pillai and therefore he started bargaining for the land (where the current school stands) from Nagpur University.

However, he was helped by Brigadier-General Sir Terence Humphrey Keyes (the then Resident Officer to the Queen) in this. The school has been named as Keyes High School, to pay tribute to the magnanimous effort of Sir Terence Keyes to get the land for us.”

The foundation of the school was laid in the year 1930 and it started functioning from the year 1932. The first headmaster of the school was HM Davis and the first secretary was Deewan Bahadur Padma Rao Mudaliar and the current strength of the school is 1500. Gnanasiri said, “We have been following the tradition of providing quality education to our children. Our main objective is to equip girls of our society with knowledge to fight against any kind of atrocity which might come their way.”

Apart from providing quality education, the school also ensures all-round development of the students by including arts and games classes in the curriculum. V R Sailaja, a class X student of the school says, “I am indebted to my teachers for grooming my personality. Today I am recognised as an ‘all-rounder’ in my class.”

Sonali Das, another student of class X says, “Teachers have been a constant source of encouragement to become what I am today. They have given me enough time to learn things at my pace, this has helped me understanding my academics with depth. When I grow up, I want to join the Indian Armed Forces.”

Mizbana, English and Social Studies teacher of the school, told The Hans India, “I am an ex-student of this school and have been working here for the last 26 years now. This school is the place where I grew up and learnt the basic lessons of ethics. It would not be wrong to say Keyes High School is my second family,” said the teacher with beam of joy in her eyes.