Situated at Connaught Road, off Queen’s Road Cross, in a secure and serene environment, the school is one of the rare heritage building with its well maintained garden, in the heart of the Bangalore city.
Set up as a girls high school by Rao Saheb Dharmaprakasha Shri Thiruvengadaswamy Mudliar in the name of his wife, in the year 1931, during the Britishers time, with mere 57 girls on its rolls has come a long way now. The title ‘Dharmaprakasha’ was conferred on him by the Maharaja of Mysore. The current academic year 2007-2008, of Smt Kamala Bai Girls High School, that follows state syllabus in English medium, is the platinum jubilee year which is being celebrated in a grand way. Throughout the jubilee year a number of inter-school literary, sports and cultural activities were conducted for the students and the celebrations would culminate with the final ceremony on January 4, 2008 at Ambedkar Bhavan.
“Shri Mudliar was unhappy with the British system of education. He wanted his daughter’s education to be deeply rooted to the Indian values and culture. Keeping this as the prime motive, the school was constructed in record 11 months, which became a temple of learning for other girls also”, said Aruna Sreedhar, assistant secretary of the institution.
To begin with a high school section was started with classes 8-10. And within two years higher primary section was added to feed the high school section. The school became an instant hit with the masses. Many lined up with influence letters to admit their wards in this Institution as it was catering to the Indian tradition and culture.
Over the years various wings were added from time to tome to keep abreast with the times. The Polytechnic was opened in1988. The PUC wing was started in 1998 with arts, science and commerce branches to choose. The Pre-University commerce wing is securing 100% results with 95% first class for the past 9 years. The Degree college was started in 2003. The institution is in the process of commencing degree courses in BBM, BCA and MCA from the coming academic year. Both, PUC and Degree courses would be open to boys also. Metropolitan Central School, which functions under the Smt Kamala Bai Education Trust imparts education for boys and girls upto class 3 is now further expanding to class 6.
Under the guidance of many of its visionaries and pioneers, the Institution has grown into a magnificent campus, moulding the minds of many, preparing the energetic youth for effective contribution to the society. “Management also provides free education, uniforms, books and transport for the poor and needy students, which is a great service to the humanity. Free and compulsory coaching is also given in karate, yoga, music, dance and computers to make the children face the challenges of life”, said Aruna.
The school management and staff work tirelessly to bring forth the creative talent in the students. The poems, articles, paintings etc are the outcome of such ideas where children are given an opportunity to exhibit their talents on notice boards, in exhibitions and through various clubs like science, art and craft, cultural etc. NCC training boosts the courage, confidence and leadership qualities of the children. The school’s NCC march past is adjudged the best among the schools in Karnataka. These activities encourage and motivate the young talent.
The management of the Institution is vested in the hands of Board of trustees, consisting of five members of whom the Director of Public Instruction in Karnataka and the Controller State Accounts Department, are the two ex-officio trustees. The other three trustees are, two non-officials and one from the family of the founder. V T Padmanaban, Mudliar’s eldest son, was the trustee from 1943 to 1980, succeeded by V T Krishnamoorthy, the second son. During his tenure of 12 years, he started the polytechnic with various diploma courses. V T Velu, the third son, started the P U College. The present secretary V K Surendra, the grandson of the founder started the B Com Degree course in the year 2003 and Metropolitan Central School with CBSE syllabus, for both boys and girls in the year 2004. Despite these expansions, the management intentions were never commercial. Says Surendra, “we are just following our founder’s principles. We believe that if we are successful in providing education to a poor girl child we have achieved our mission.”
Today standing on the pinnacle of this glorious 75th year, Smt Kamala Bai Educational Institution, looks forward to many fruitful years ahead.
