As long as there are schools like Lady Lewis Girls’ High School, there is hope that someone from the bottom will make it to the top.
On 29th June, I visited Lady Lewis Girls’ High School, the oldest girls’ school in Sambalpur and one of the oldest schools in Odisha, after a long time along with friends Siba Nanda and Abodhram Purohit.
The purpose of our visit was to meet three bright students of the school Laxmipriya Rout, Manasi Urmi and Bhumija Gahir who passed the Class 10 exam this year with flying colours. We wanted to praise and encourage them for their efforts.
Laxmipriya has an A1 (above 90% mark) while Manasi and Bhumija have secured A2 (above 80%). But their efforts go beyond marks. What’s important is the resilience of these students.
All the three come from underprivileged backgrounds like most of the students of Lady Lewis. Their parents do odd and irregular jobs to maintain their families. The girls have come up so far due to their interest in studies, sheer hard work and guidance from their teachers. If they have scored over 80% or 90% under adverse circumstances, it’s far better a result than anyone from an expensive private school scoring 100%. They have jumped as high as or higher than their counterparts in privileged private schools despite jumping from the lowest platforms.
Another myth needs to be broken here. Many people often say that X or Y private school gets better results though having teachers paid much less than government school teachers. But the advantage of such a private school is that they admit better students, mostly from privileged classes, after an entrance exam. A government school like Lady Lewis has no such liberties. It doesn’t deny admission to anyone, from any social strata.
It’s in fact goes to the credit of the teachers from Lady Lewis that they try their best to impart education to the most underprivileged students. It’s quite outstanding that 224 out of 225 students cleared the board exam this year.
I’ve the fortune of knowing many of the teachers of Lady Lewis who have not only guided meritorious students from poorer backgrounds but also helped them financially to make the girls’ struggle easier.
Kudos to such sensitive and inspiring teachers. As long as there are schools like Lady Lewis Girls’ High School, there is hope that someone from the bottom will make it to the top.