A tattered yellow page from the April 5, 1925, issue of Prajabandhu, a prominent Gujarati weekly newspaper first published in Ahmedabad in 1898, records the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board’s first meeting, held on March 31, 1925, under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then president of the Ahmedabad municipality.
“The first meeting of the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board, constituted under the new Primary Education Act, was held last Tuesday evening under the leadership of the president of the municipality here, Shri Vallabhbhai,” records Prajabandhu.
“At about 5 pm, Vallabhbhai came to the meeting and said that the term of the Municipal Schools Committee expired yesterday, and according to the new law, the new board comes to power today. Some issues related to education have been resolved, and some issues are still pending, on which the Municipal School Board will work.”
Jamalpur Gujarati Shala number 4 in Astodia, Jamalpur.
In the meeting, Balwantray Pramodray Thakor was appointed as the school board’s first chairman, Kalidas Jaskaran Zaveri as its vice-chairman, and Pranlal Kirparam Desai as its first administrative officer.
“The records show that the board was announced on March 31, 1925, and came into being on April 1, 1925,” historian Rizwan Qadri told The Indian Express.
A testimony purportedly written by Mahatma Gandhi
Another testimony is well preserved at one of the board’s Hindi-medium schools in Ahmedabad’s Madhopura area. On one of the walls of the now-renovated principal’s office hangs a framed handwritten note purportedly written by Mahatma Gandhi during a visit to the school with his wife Kasturba. The note mentions that Gandhi was impressed with the education and the school’s environment.
Amarpura Hindi Prathmik Shala number 1, established in 1939, is claimed to be visited by Mahatma and Kastruba Gandhi. (Express Photo)
“Though the exact date of this visit is not confirmed, it certainly looks like it took place in the pre-independence era, as the school was established in 1939. It was a smaller frame, which got old, so we recently replaced it with a new one,” Rajesh R Gupta, former principal of Amarpura Hindi Prathmik Shala number 1, told The Indian Express, referring to the piece of paper that has been a part of the legacy of the school that has 250 students.
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Alumni Connect
Dating 100 years back, the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board, with a current strength of 453 schools in the Gujarati, English, Hindi, and Urdu mediums and 1.72 lakh students, has announced plans for its centennial celebration. These include creating an alumni repository of 100 years through the Alumni Connect scheme, under which the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has pledged funds equivalent to what each alumnus contributes.
“The school board has a long history, and we want to preserve and celebrate it. The Alumni Connect scheme has been launched to trace and connect with these former students of municipal schools,” L D Desai, Administrative Officer, Ahmedabad Municipal School Board, told The Indian Express.
With its centenary year coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the school board has decided to dedicate the celebrations by paying tribute to the freedom fighter.
The handwritten note, claimed to be of Mahatma Gandhi, during his visit to Amarpura Hindi Prathmik Shala number 1, which was established in 1939. (Express Photo)
However, some documents also date the Ahmedabad Municipal School Board’s history back to 1827, when the Sheth Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Municipal School was established as the first organised school in Ahmedabad. The establishment of the Vernacular Society in 1848 by British officer Alexander Forbes and poet Dalpatram became a landmark event in Ahmedabad’s education sector.
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Further, AMC records reveal that the first girls’ school was established in Ahmedabad in 1851 with a donation of Rs 20,000 from Harkunwarba and Sheth Maganlal Karamchand.
“From 1882, primary education came under the purview of the Ahmedabad municipality. In 1911-12, 5,800 students studied in the schools run by the municipality. Thereafter, by 1924, there were 88 primary schools functioning in the city, in which more than 14,000 students were studying. The number of students gradually increased with time. In 1924-25, there were only 88 primary schools in Ahmedabad city, and 599 teachers worked in them. The total number of students studying in these schools was 14,509,” L D Desai said.
Desai added that the board established the Hindustan Scout Association in 1938-39 to instill patriotism and loyalty in the children. “Also, around 200 teachers who were dismissed for participating in the freedom movement of 1942 were honourably taken back in 1946. They were honoured as freedom fighters by the Gujarat Government,” he said.
The Municipal School Board District Bharat Scout Guide Association has managed scout and guide activities in municipal schools since 1961. The organisation now has its own building in the Paldi area, which has also housed the board’s headquarters for nearly two years, with the original building in the Navrangpura area under reconstruction. This building is named Mayor Rafiuddin Sheikh Scout Bhavan.
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Till recently, the board had run municipal schools in the Marathi, Tamil, Sindhi, Telugu, and Malayalam mediums as well. With demand for English-medium schools up, the board also faces severe competition from private English-medium schools. The board has been running English-medium schools for over a decade, adding more such schools every year.
