Leadership in Hyderabad Public School's DNA

HYDERABAD:  History: Nobody knows the exact month it was founded in, but what started as a learning centre meant only for the sons of jagirdars back in 1923, became Hyderabad Public School in 1951 under a society, after the jagirdari system was abolished. Today, their alumni from different walks of life rule and serve people, nations, ideas and innovations.

"Despite the change in the kind of students - the rich, nobles or the meritorious and ones with scholarships, the standard has never wavered in the past century," said HPS Society president Gusti J Noria, an alumnus of the school himself.

Hiccups:

Around the early 2000s, many noticed a slight change in the HPS wind and attributed that to a lack of balanced ownership from all stakeholders - the management, the staff, students, parents, etc. But before it could spindle downwards, the alumni came in just in time. "Some of our senior members of the society thought that it would be prudent to get some old students because they wouldn't have any other agenda on their minds other than the welfare of the school. So we are about six or seven of our old students who were brought into the society and most of those members are a dedicated lot. Slowly, we were able to correct things like discipline and stopped nepotism in the recruitment of staff.

Then there was zero tolerance for any substance abuse, began paying better and made several such changes and the glory it has been restored back to, is what one can see today," said Noria who had been the vice chairman of the school for the last 12 years and on the board for another two years and last year was made the president of the society.

Leadership - constant:

With several schools springing up in the past decade with international standards and teachers, etc., asked what's the one thing that HPS would call its constant, pat came Noria's reply: leadership. "There's an inculcation of leadership right from primary school's prefectorial system for a class monitor, where 3-4 classes joined together and elect a prefect. So there is always a competition for leadership. The attitudes are transformed at a very early stage for leadership roles and the various cultural and cosmopolitan exposures that our students get through discussions, diversity, competitions, and debates," he said.

Noria added that free-flowing, out-of-the-box and out-of-syllabus interactions between the students and the teachers, the habit of reading being an essential part of schooling in HPS helps one absorb things like a sponge. "Equality is another ingredient - there is never a distinction between sponsored children and general students - we didn't even know who is who, it is all well integrated. The management ensured that everyone's education journey is joyous rather than a path filled with obstacles," he stressed.

Vision 2025:

HPS now aspires to be among the top schools globally by 2050. The institution will seek to be the gold standard in school education, embodying excellence, leadership and service. The school aims to introduce an international curriculum to prepare its domestic students for global mobility and also to attract foreign students. It will provide holistic education, with emphasis on developing a spirit of enquiry, critical thinking and communication skills and providing ample opportunities for experiential, project-based learning alongside community engagement. Innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking abilities will be instilled in them from an early age. "HPS alumni will go on to become global citizens with leadership qualities. Leveraging digital technologies in its smart campuses, we will invite the best guest faculty from across the world. Our campuses will have world-class infrastructure that is environment-friendly. Its differently-abled-friendly facilities will include best-in-class classrooms, digital infrastructure, vocational activity laboratories, science laboratories, hybrid library and learning spaces, and amenities for sports and the arts. By 2050, “I Studied in HPS” will become a famous brand on par with the world’s top schools, with the tagline, “Want the best? Look to HPS!”," a hopeful Noria said.