100 years of Suburban Higher Secondary School,Ramnagar, Coimbatore

Suburban Higher Secondary School , Ram Nagar , Coimbatore Century-old school serves all classes Coimbatore: The year was 1913. A small group of students from the Brahmin community started to get education at the thinnai pallikkoodam started at Ramnagar, which has now become the famous Suburban Higher Secon­dary School here, walking into its 100th year and catering to all sections of society. The school continues to be a landmark of this area. The initial concept of educating Brah­min students changed over the years and now, the majority that study in the school is from the backward community.

“Before Independence, we used to have 90 per cent of students from the Brahmin community, while 10 per cent were from others. But now, we have over 80 per cent of students from the backward community,” said N.V. Nagasubramaniam, president of The Ram­nagar Suburban Society which runs the school, while speaking to Deccan Chronicle.

The school was initially called Brahmin Exten­sion Schools located in the suburb of the then known Coimbatore city. And later, it became the Suburban school. “The school has grown from an elementary school to matriculation and higher secondary schools and they had together educated over 1.5 lakh students over the decades,” said the president, adding that they offer education as a service as the elementary and higher secondary schools are aided schools.

The first headmaster of the suburban elementary school was Sathya Vageswara Iyer, who was followed by C.S. Nages­wara Iyer, between 1928 and 1940. The founder of the school was said to be B.V. Subramania Iyer and some local residents of Ramnagar, previously called ‘Brahmin Exten­sion,’ during the 1910s.

“The landmark event on the occasion of the centenary year celebrations of this one of the oldest schools will be the presence of the former president of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who is to visit the school on September 6,” said school headmaster G. Subra­manian. “The school that was started to uplift the Brahmin community is catering to the needs of backward communities,” he said, adding that as of now, 1,196 students were provided education in their aided higher secondary school alone.

Recollecting a memorable event, he said renowned Tamil scholar U.V. Swaminatha Iyer had visited the school in 1934, while some of its headmasters won the coveted Dr Radha­krishnan award for excellence as teachers. “We are proud to say that we have produced many famous lawyers, scientists, engineers, arch­i­tects and many more professionals,” said the principal, who himself is a recipient of the President of India award for best headmaster and Dr Radha­krishnan award for best teacher.