PSGSJHSS | History

These immortal words of Mahatma Gandhi have seen a truer meaning in PSG & Sons’ exemplary charity evinced in founding and nurturing Sarvajana Vidhyasala. This was renamed as Sarvajana High School (1939), Sarvajana Higher Secondary School (1978) and PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School (2002).

At the time of the inception of the school during 1924, there were no proper transport and infrastructural facilities in Poolaimedu, which means a mound with abundant poolai flowers (later called Peelamedu).

Children, after completing their schooling till 4^th Form (now called Standard (Std) IX), had to go to Coimbatore town to pursue their higher studies. Getting admission in city schools and commuting between home and school were very challenging and so the people of Peelamedu yearned for a High School in their own locality. In such a state of affairs, admission was denied even to one of the descendants of the PSG Family. It was the last straw on the camel’s back.

Thanks to PSG brothers who changed the entire scenario. A meeting was convened on Thursday, the 20^th of October, 1921 at the Elementary School, Poolaimedu to arrive at a solution for the children’s future. It was an occasion of Deepavali (Diwali). In Tamil, Deepavali means an array of lights to illuminate the homes. It is note-worthy that the meeting held on the day of Diwali, did illuminate this agrarian land, Poolaimedu and did transform it into an educational and industrial hub. It was proposed to found a high school for the people of Poolaimedu. This move was seconded by many others.

PSG Ganga Naidu agreed to contribute money on behalf of the PSG Family for constructing the school building. Even people below the poverty line were ready to provide support in the form of building materials and human resources.

It was also decided to name the school as “Sarvajana Vidhyasala” as suggested by PSG Venkataswamy Naidu, the eldest son of P.S. Govindaswamy Naidu. The term ‘Sarva’ means ‘all’ and ‘Jana’ means ‘people’. Admission to all children irrespective of caste, creed, religion, social and economic status became the guiding principle which is being followed in letter and spirit till date.

Construction work went on in full swing under the personal supervision of all the four brothers of the PSG Family, and Diwan Bahadur PSG Rangaswamy Naidu, the second son of P.S.Govindaswamy Naidu in particular. Building materials were outsourced – Teak wood from Burma (now Myanmar) and iron bars from England. It became the talk of the town. Lime mortar was ground in proper proportion under the watchful eyes of the PSG brothers in order to maintain uniform quality to ensure the strength of the building. People from different parts of the town and neighbouring villages flocked in large numbers to take a look at the school building at various stages of construction. The onlookers were astonished and wonderstruck to see the magnificence. To digress a little, even now one can see the teak wood staircase in the frontage of the school and the iron bars with the word ‘England’ (meaning to say that manufactured in England) inscribed, in the roof of the main building rooms.

**Teakwood Staircase with 26 steps denoting the letters of the English Alphabet (A to Z) – maintained and used till date**

Roof showing I-beam imported from England with Inscription.

Eventually, the school as visualized by the four PSG brothers came into existence and the dream turned into a reality. It was inaugurated by Shri Venkatrama Iyengar, Member of the Legislative Council, Madras Presidency on the 4^th of June 1924. It was consecrated by His Holiness Ramananda Adigalar of Kaumara Mutt at Saravanampatti, Coimbatore.

PSG Rangaswamy Naidu shouldered the responsibility as Managing Trustee, with Mr.V.Ramachandra Iyer, as the first Headmaster of this prestigious institution.With seven teachers and 170 students, the school started functioning. Hostel facility was also provided to the needy students.

The then hostel students and staff of Sarvajana Vidhyasala

Staff and Students of PSG & Sons’ Charities Hostel

Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, rendered his own composition “Jana Gana Mana” in the school meeting in September 1926. Since that day, it became the school song which had been sung every morning in the prayer meeting. Thus, the school has the unique honour of singing Jana Gana Mana which was later proclaimed as the National Anthem of our country on 24^th January 1950.

The school grew from strength to strength. There was development in the infrastructure, increase in the strength of the teachers and the students. The hard work of administrators and the faculty bore fruit and culminated in the development of the school into a Higher Secondary School in July 1978.

Batch of students who appeared for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) Examination in 1931-32 along with Shri G.Krishnan (Treasurer, PSGR Memorial Trust), Shri K.E.Narayanaswamy Naidu (Member, PSGR Memorial Trust).

WIDE ANGLE VIEW

PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School prides itself on being the pioneer in the field of education since its inception particularly with regard to supporting the children from underprivileged sections of the society and achieving great success not only in their examinations but also grooming them as responsible citizens later in life as well. It would be no exaggeration to call this traditional institution a trailblazer. To conclude, the first educational institution, PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School, has certainly become the piece de resistance of PSG & Sons’ Charities rendering yeoman service to society.

The following are the “several firsts” of our school in Coimbatore:

Introduction of co-education

Employing a lady instructor in Physical Education (Mrs. Singh)

Laying of Basketball court and introducing of Basketball game

Introducing the scheme of “Hobbies for all” (every student was made to spend two hours per week) to foster innovation and creativity

Introduction of engineering education at school level as early as 1948

Introducing Tamil as the medium of instruction. The government enforced Tamil as the medium of instruction throughout the state only in 1938. Even before that, the school had started teaching Chemistry in Tamil as a pioneering effort from 1929. Madam Annie Besant appreciated this effort and wrote in her “New India” in praise of this

All these pioneering endeavours have brought laurels to PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School from time to time.

1921 Oct 20	The proposal to create ‘Sarvajana Vidhyasala’ was conceptualized on this Deepavali day.
1922 May 1	The Foundation Stone of Peelamedu Sarvajana Vidhyasala, was laid by His Excellency Honorable Rao Bahadur Shri.A.P.Pathro, MLC, the then Educational Development Minister of our Madras Presidency (Later renamed as Madras State and then as Tamil Nadu).
1924 June 4	The school started functioning. It was inaugurated by Venkataramana Iyengar, Member of the Legislative Council, Madras.
1924	Inauguration of school hostel.
1924 June	PSG Rangaswamy Naidu took charge as the Correspondent (now called Secretary) of the school.
1924 June 4	V.Ramachandra Iyer was appointed as the first Headmaster of Sarvajana High School.
1925 Dec 16	E.V.Ramasamy (Periyar) visited the school.
1926	R.Srinivasa Iyengar took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
1926 Jan 25	PSG & Sons’ Charities Trust was founded.
1926 Sep	Rabindranath Tagore addressed the students and sang ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in the School Assembly. It was the school song thereafter till it became the National Anthem of our country on 24th January 1950. Students of Sarvajana Vidhyasala contributed Rs.34.34 (equal to 6 sovereigns of gold then) to Rabindranath Tagore in the school assembly addressed by him towards ‘Santiniketan‘(now called Visva -Bharati University).
1927 April	The first batch of SSLC students passed out.
1927 Oct 20	Mahadeva Desai, the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi, visited the school.
1928 July 15	Chief Minister of Madras Presidency Dr.P.Subbarayan visited the school.
1929 Feb.14	Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), Jamnalal Bajaj (Industrialist) and S. Ramanathan (Founder of Self – Respect Movement) visited the school and addressed the students on the Swadeshi Movement and promoted Khadhi.
1929 May 5	PPandit Madhan Mohan Malavia, Freedom fighter and Educational reformer, visited the school.
1929 June	The school was the first in the State to haveTamil (regional language) as the medium of instruction to teach Science which was praised by Dr. Annie Besant in the magazine “New India”.
1934 Feb. 6	Mahatma Gandhi visited PSG Industrial Institute.
1934 Oct 13	Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, Poppili Arasar visited the school.
1935 Feb 16	A.T.Pannir Selvam, Finance Minister of Madras Presidency, visited the school.
1935 Sep 6	Nobel laureate, Sir C.V. Raman, visited the school.
1938 Aug.4	V.V.Giri, (the former President of India) visited the school.
1939 June	The school was the first in the state to implement Tamil as the Medium of instruction for all the subjects in accordance with the directive of the State Government.
1946 Jan 21	Mahatma Gandhi appreciated the name “SARVA JANA” and commended stating “Sarvajana Sukhino Bhavantu”.
1947 Apr. 13	T.K. Avinashilingam Chettiyar (Fondly called Ayya), Former Education Minister, visited the school.
1947 Dec 5	Namakkal Kavignar (a great poet) V.Ramalingam visited the school.
1947	‘Tamilkadal’ (a great Tamil poet) His Holiness Maraimalai Adigal visited the school. Mr. G.D.Naidu (an innovative industrialist cum scientist) recorded his speech and surprised him.
1947	PSG Ganga Naidu took charge as the Managing Trustee.
1948 June 7	The school was the first in the State to implement Vocational Education. Engineering section was started at the school level.
1948 Aug. 4	Sir C.P. Ramasamy Iyer, Diwan of Travancore, visited the school.
1949	G.R.Govindarajulu took charge as the Managing Trustee.
1950	S.Venkataramananan took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
1951 Nov .23	Visit of Kaviyogi Suddhananda Bharathiar (a great poet).
1952 May 26	Memorial building of PSG Rangaswamy Naidu was inaugurated by Rajaji, former Chief Minister of Madras State.
1960 Aug .10	His Excellency Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, visited the school.
1963 July 14	His Excellency Zakir Husain Khan, Vice President of India, visited the school.
1964	K.V.Narayanasamy took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
1966	S.S.Rajagopalan took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
1970	The school implemented the scheme, ‘Employment with Education’.
1971	C.Swaminathan (alumnus & former teacher) was selected for Tamilnadu State Football Team and emerged as a winner in the ‘Santhosh Trophy’ Finals.
1972 Jan 26	Dr.G.R.Damodaran took charge as the Managing Trustee.
1973	Indira Gandhi, Former Prime Minister, appreciated the name and motto of the school at the National Level Science Exhibition held in Delhi.
1974 Oct. 19	His Holiness Sachidananda Swamigal (Alumnus) visited the school.
1974 Dec. 7-14	His Excellency K.K.Shah, Governor of Tamil Nadu, presided over the Diamond Jubilee function of our school.
1975	S.S.Rajagopalan, Headmaster of the School, became the first Secretary of PSG Schools. (1. Sarvajana High School, 2. Primary School, Vedapatti, 3.Primary School, Peelamedu).
1976 Aug 4	Thirumuruga Kirupanandha Variyar, Spiritual preacher, visited the school.
1977	S.S. Rajagopalan, Headmaster cum Secretary, was conferred with the ‘Best Teacher Award’ by the State Government.
1978 Oct 3	G.Varadaraj took charge as the Managing Trustee.
1979	Sarvajana High School was upgraded as Sarvajana Higher Secondary School.
1979 Nov	M.G.Ramachandran, Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and C.Aranganayagam former Educational Minister, visited the School Exhibition organized on the occasion of the 6th State Level Science Conference.
1981 Sep	S.S.Rajagopalan, Headmaster cum Secretary, was conferred with the ‘National Best Teacher Award’ by the Central Government.
1982 Feb 7	Inauguration of the three-storeyed building in remembrance of PSG Venkataswamy Naidu by Her Excellency Jothi Venkatachalam, Governor of Kerala.
1985 Aug	Teacher training classes started in the school for Girl Students. Received appreciation from NCERT as the Best School in this regard.
1989 Nov 16	G.R.Karthikeyan took charge as the Managing Trustee.
1989	A.Ramasamy took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
1990	Basket ball court was inaugurated by Dr.S.S.Rajagopalan, the Secretary of PSG Schools.
1991 Nov 16	A.Muthukrishnan took charge as the Secretary of the School.
1992 June	Unaided English Medium section was started at the High School level.
1993	V.Thangavelu took charge as the Headmaster of the School.
1995 June	PSG Manavar Illam to educationally uplift students, who had lost either or both parents hailing from economically weaker sections of the society from STD VI till their graduation was started by the Managing Trustee, G.R. Karthikeyan with 33 residents. All the expenses of PSG Manavar Illam are borne by PSG & Sons’ Charities.
2000	V.Rajan took charge as the Managing Trustee.
2001	K.Kuppusamy, Physical Education Teacher won the gold medal in 4X100 mts. relay, bronze in 100mts. race in the 11th Asian Level Athletic Championship.
2002	R.Nandakumar took charge as the Secretary of the school.
2002 Jan 24	Bharat Ratna Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Former President of India, inaugurated the Laboratory and Library complex on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of the school.
2002 July 16	The prestigious prefix PSG was added to the school name as PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School.
2003	S.Ranganathan took charge as the Secretary of the school.
2004 July 10	His Excellency P.S.Ramamohan Rao, Former Governor of Tamilnadu, inaugurated the 80th year celebration (Pearl Jubilee) Memorial Block.
2006	G.Rangasamy took charge as the Managing Trustee.
2006 June 1	A.Balakrishnan took charge as the Headmaster of the School.
2006 June 30	N.C.Nandagopalan took charge as the Secretary of PSG Schools.
2006	Unaided English medium section was extended with another section (class) at high school level.
2006	PSG Manavar Illam new building was constructed.
2007	State Level Science Exhibition was conducted.
2008 Aug 20	Inauguration of Auditorium atop Laboratory and Library Complex.
2008 Dec 5	Padmashree Dr.Mayilsamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan I, visited the school, and had an interactive session with the students.
2011	L.Gopalakrishnan took charge as the Managing Trustee.
2011	R.Rajeswari took charge as the first Headmistress of the school.
2011 May 11	Alumni Association was formed.
2012 July 2	Free breakfast scheme for needy students of the school was inaugurated by the Managing Trustee, L.Gopalakrishnan.
2012 Oct. 13	The school was awarded ‘Eco Award’ for green campus by Nature Conservation Society (NCS), Coimbatore.
2013 July 16	His Holiness Maruthachala Adigalar of Perur Aadhinam, visited the school.
2013 Aug	A new Basketball court was inaugurated by K.K.chansoria, the chief National coach of Basketball federation of India.
2013 Nov 9	The School was conferred with the ‘School Brilliance Award’ by Edu Pro India 2020 & IBCI, for ‘Best Infrastructure & Resources’.
2014	Received the ‘School Brilliance Award’ for ‘Vision and Leadership’.
2014 July 8	Padmashree Dr.Baldev Raj, Director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), visited the school.
2015	R.Ravi took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
2015	J.Elakkiya, student of the school won the 3rd place in shotput in South zone National Athletics Championship.
2016	N.Sasikumar took charge as the Headmaster of the school.
2016 Jan 22	Padma Bhushan A.R.Rahman, Oscar Awardee, sang ‘Vande Mataram’ in unison with the students.
2017	G.Sanjay Prasath, student of the school created awareness on harmful effects of Plastic through cycle rally. (510 km journey from Coimbatore to Chennai).
2018	P.Narayanasamy took charge as the Secretary of the School.
2018	A commerce stream was started in the Self-finance section at Higher secondary level.
2019	English Medium was started in the Aided sections of Standards VI to VIII.
2019	T.Sanjay , student of the school received a cash award of Rs.1 lakh for his outstanding performance in the National Level Basketball Tournament.
2019 June 29	District Level Hockey Tournament for PSG Trophy was inaugurated by P.Narayanasamy, the Secretary of the school.
2019 Dec	P.Jayachandran, Physical Director of the school served as a coach for Tamilnadu Basketball team for girls. He also served as a referee in National Level Basketball Tournaments.
2020 March 13	An additional building of Manavar Illam with four floors was inaugurated to accommodate more residents (present strength is 150).

A WALK DOWN THE MEMORY LANE

Over the years, numerous eminent personalities have visited our campus promoting creativity and personality development among students. People from different spheres of life have come to share their vast knowledge and teachings which directly has impacted our student’s lives. We have been bestowed with extreme guidance and teachings of these personalities, who by visiting the campus have undoubtedly, enriched our path of learning and achieving success.

Well Wishes showered by MAHATMA GANDHI:

In a function conducted in Chennai on 21.01.1946, Mahatma Gandhi inquired of the teacher Thiru.J.A.Baskara Iyer about the name of his school. When the teacher answered “Sarvajana High School”, Gandhiji exclaimed ‘What a beautiful name!’ and blessed the school joyously as ‘Sarvajana Sukino Bhavanthu’ that is ‘May the school function accordingly’. Since that moment, the school has been living upto its name.

History

Genesis

Foundation Plaque

Foundation Plaque Inscription

Shri Rama Jayam

VISION AND MISSION

Vision

Mission

PIONEERING EFFORTS

TIMELINE

EMINENT PERSONALITIES VISIT

A WALK DOWN THE MEMORY LANE

Well Wishes showered by MAHATMA GANDHI:

16.12.1925 –E. V. RAMASAMY(PERIYAR)

Head of Tamil Nadu Congress

14.06.1926 – C.VIJAYARAGAVACHARIAR

Advisor of Viceroy

24.04.1927 – Dr.P.SUBBARAYAN

Former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency

20.10.1927 – MAHADEVA DESAI

Gandhiji’s Personal Secretary

14.02.1929 – C.RAJAGOPALACHARI

Former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency

05.05.1929 – Pandit MADHAN MOHAN MALAVIYA

President of Indian National Congress.

13.10.1934 – RAMAKRISHNA RANGA RAO (BOBBILI RAJA)

Chief Minister of Madras Presidency

24.10.1934 – V.S.SRINIVASA SASTRI

Former Vice Chancellor of Annamalai

04.08.1938 – V.V.GIRI

Honourable President of India

16.02.1935 – A.T.PANEER SELVAM

Minister of Home of Madras Presidency

06.09.1935 – Sir.C.V.RAMAN

Indian Physicist, Nobel Prize winner

13.04.1947 – T.S.AVINASHILINGAM CHETTIAR

Education Minister of Madras Presidency

05.12.1947 – V.RAMALINGAM (NAMAKKAL KAVIGNAR)

04.08.1948 – Sir.C.P.RAMASWAMY IYER

Diwan of Travancore

13.10.1950 – T. K. CHIDAMBARANATHA MUDALIAR(RASIGAMANI)

Tamil Scholar

23.11.1951 –Dr.SHUDDHANANDA BHARATHI(KAVI YOGI MAHARISHI)

30.11.1952 – Dr.M.VARADARAJAN

Vice Chancellor Madurai Kamarajar University

12.10.1954 – THAVATHIRU KUNDRAKUDI ADIGALAR

Atheist and Saint

11.02.1974 – A.SRINIVASARAGAVAN

Sahitya Academy Awardee

19.10.1974 – THAVATHIRU SACHIDANANDA SWAMIGAL

Alumnus of PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School

07.12.1974 – Dr.V.C.KULANDHAISWAMY

Vice Chancellor of the Anna University

10.12.1974 – K.K.SHAH

Honourable Governor of TamilNadu

10.12.1974 – JUSTICE P.R.GOKULAKRISHNAN

Highcourt Madras

14.12.1974 – Padma shri Dr.N.D.SUNDARAVADIVELU

Vice chancellor of Madras University

04.08.1976 – THIRUMURUGA KIRUBANANDHA VARIYAR

Shaivite spiritual Teacher

20.12.1977 –Dr.H.S.S Lawrence

Director of School Education

27.06.1990 – M. TAMILKUDIMAGAN

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

12.01.1992 – R.M VEERAPPAN

Education Minister of Tamilnadu

10.08.1993 – KUMARI ANANTHAN

Platform orator

01.09.1993 – KAVIKKO S. ABDUL RAHMAN

Kalaimamani Awardee

04.07.2003 – MARABIN MAINDAN MUTHAIAH

Motivational Speaker, Writer

06.02.2004 – Dr.S.S.RAJAGOPALAN

Former HM & Secretary,PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School

06.02.2004 –A. RAMASAMY

Former HM, PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary School

10.07.2004 – P.S.RAMAMOHAN RAO

Honourable Governor of TamilNadu

10.07.2004 – Dr.S.Paramasivan