Chinoy School centenary

The Bai Ratanbai J. Chinoy Parsi High School will complete 100 years on January 19, 2019. The School was initially started by Jehangirji Chinoy in memory of his beloved wife Ratanbai as a Parsi minority institution to cater to the educational needs of the economically underprivileged Parsi children. The School is now a secular minority institution. After running as a primary and middle school till 1930, the School was upgraded to a high school and now runs classes from nursery to 10 under the Secondary School Board syllabus.
The strength of the students is 1,050 with 150 in the pre-primary, 486 in the primary and 414 in high school. The medium of instruction is English. Run as a charitable institution on a no profitno loss basis, the School endeavors to provide the best education to children of all backgrounds.

Bai Ratanbai Chinoy Parsi High School in Secunderabad

Located in Parklane, in the heart of Secunderabad, more than 50% of its students are from small bazars within a radius of three to four kilometers, like the Kandoji Bazar, Pot market, General bazar, Dhaan bazar, Bharthan compound, Kalasiguda, Regimental bazar, etc. The rest are from nearby disadvantaged neighborhoods in Balamrai, Ranigunj, Nallagutta, Rasoolpura, Prakash Nagar. Many of the parents work in the shops as manual help or domestic assistants. Some of the parents are small scale businessmen or roadside vendors. Children of chaiwallas (tea vendors) and bandiwallas (roadside food vendors) study here. For most of the children, going to school was a dream, and after being enrolled, proved themselves in academics.
The School is tied up with iTech School Solutions which provides computer education. The child learns at least one computer language (Java or C++). There are five Interactive Class Rooms (ICRs) which are equivalent to smart boards for grades six to 10 where teachers have access to online resource materials, maps, animated lessons and assessments. Each section of the class gets to have an ICR lesson once a week on each subject. The teachers are given special training to handle these classes. This year we have also trained primary teachers. We have a tie-up with Tata Class Edge which provides infrastructure and content for classes one to 10.
The teaching staff is also qualified and trained for the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) pattern. So, the transition from the old SSC (Secondary School Certificate) pattern to the CCE pattern was very smooth. We have achieved 100% results for the past six consecutive years.
The School believes in the all-round development of the child. We offer co-curricular activities like National Cadet Corps (Air Force wing), scouts and guides, arts and craft, culture and sports, plus supplementary activities for literature, science, mathematics and social service.
The School provides merit scholarships, most of which are sponsored by the trustees and some given by the grateful alumni. Fatherless children are given free education. For the academic year 2017-18, freeships were given to 13 students and 50% scholarships to 42 students. The School proposes to start a program to "sponsor a child.” Over a 12-month period, the fees charged for pre-primary classes are Rs 17,610; primary classes Rs 19,585, and high school classes Rs 20,910. Our income from fees is just about enough for the staff salaries and the day-to-day maintenance.
In the centenary year we realize that there are many things we would like to do: a facelift for our building, adding ICRs for the primary children, upgrading of computer labs, class furniture, sports facilities, etc. The management welcomes donations to expand our endeavors. Cheques in the name of: "Trustees B. R. J. C. Parsi High School,” may be sent to 119, Parklane, Secunderabad 500003. Phone: 040 27843733. For online transfers, the details are: State Bank of India, Sarojini Devi Road Branch, Secunderabad 500003, Bank Account No: 54025016885, IFSC: SBIN0040227.
NADIR CHINOY
Trustee, Bai Ratanbai Chinoy Parsi High School
nechinoy@gmail.com