When I Came Upon A Lighthouse From Telangana

The story of my interaction with a National Awardee School Leader

As I sit down to pen down an excerpt from the life of a school leader whom I e-met, I have never felt more honoured. By the end of the interaction, my sense of purpose in serving a mission that strengthens the education system in India, got ever more invigorated. And the decision to pursue a career that entails storytelling to drive action- ever so rewarding.

Meet Mr. Panjala Venkateshwara Goud. Innovator. Mentor. Visionary. A national & two times state awardee. And gloriously, a proud school leader, in pursuit of making schools in his block- a nurturing ground for the children in the state of Telangana. To me, Sir came across to be one of the most humble and inspiring leaders I have had the honour of meeting. Despite the conundrums of connecting online in a low network area, Sir was what they call – as calm as the sea and as patient as one can be.

Lighthouse of Siddipet

Starting his professional career as a government teacher in June of 1995, Sir has been serving in the public education system for almost 30 years now. Over the years, his role has evolved from a teacher to spearheading school as Headmaster in 2009 and later was promoted to the role of Mandal (Block) Education Officer for Mulugu & Murukut blocks in the Siddipet district. Since then, he has been tirelessly leading the blocks and its 90 schools to be the ideal schools, run by great education leaders.

His ideologies as a school leader are quite simple-

Keep an empathetic outlook,
Steer collective action through community involvement
Improvise initiatives as per the needs of the students and his school

His empathetic personality has helped him solve many challenges for the marginalised students across the schools in his block. During COVID-19, he found out that most of the students lack access to devices and seamless internet services to attend online classes. With the community (school management committee members, parents, local philanthropists, and teachers), he figured out a solution to this problem. He collaborated with the State Bank of India and acquired computer systems (about to be discarded) to build a digital library in a common area of the school. All students, with no means to take lessons online, visited these libraries to continue their learning.

All schools usually have a grouping system for students in different houses. Sir has improvised this simple mechanism of houses to make students of his school hone some management skills and understand accountability. Each month a house (Aryabhatta, CV Raman, Ramanujan & APJ Abdul Kalam) is made responsible for conducting all the activities at the school- from hosting student assemblies to overlooking mid-day meals, from planning No-bag Saturdays to organising the Srijana program (cultural programs on Saturdays attended by parents and community members), etc. under the guidance of teachers. Students proactively plan, brainstorm and develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the process.

Continuing The Transformation With A Unique Parents-Teacher Meet

Most parents, involved in agricultural activities, found it difficult to attend Parents Teacher Meetings on the assigned day to check on their child’s progress. Additionally, the old structure of group meetings and being addressed together did not feel sufficient to make parents equal partners in their child’s education. Sir’s innovative way of thinking has always inspired him to take a rational approach to every challenge. When Pilala Kosam- a micro-improvement initiative on Parents-Teacher Meet (PTM), was introduced by the State Education Department in collaboration with Telangana Education Leadership Collective (Alokit, Bharat Dekho, Mantra4Change, Vidhya Vidhai & ShikshaLokam), he took this opportunity to overcome these challenge.

To involve parents as equal partners in shaping a child’s future Sir has introduced the model of a ‘registration desk’ to facilitate 1-1 parent-teacher meetings. Parents are now greeted with a warm welcome complete with refreshments at the registration desk when they arrive for their specifically scheduled teacher meetings.This small step makes parents feel respected and valued, encouraging them to participate with the utmost zest.

Subsequently, they are guided to their child’s class to review and discuss the progress with the teachers. This allows them to connect with each of the subject teachers, discuss reports, share challenges and walk back with solutions to support their child’s growth at home. Furthermore, the PTM now spans an entire week, ensuring flexibility for parents to attend any day they can.

Teachers presenting progress reports to students (left). Sir interacting with parents on PTM day(right)

During these week-long PTMs, he also invites eminent people from the community- IAS & IPS officers, Gram Panchayat members, Block President and other public representatives to motivate teachers and students. Moreover, his camaraderie with numerous philanthropists of the community has resulted in donation drives- providing notebooks, bags, books, sound systems for assemblies and other valuables for students in need.

Sir interacting with a state observer (left). Sir sharing the school progress with SMC Chairman (right).

The Inspiration That He Is

In his previous school, Sir identified a need to bring about a structural change to ensure good sanitation and hygiene in addition to driving academic excellence. For this, he sensitised students & staff alike to follow basic hygiene rules and built a series of improved infrastructural facilities to encourage a behavioural shift. Owing to these initiatives, his school won Swachha Vidhyalaya Puruskar (SVP) in 2018 for the state of Telangana -an honor for the schools which undertake exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene and set a benchmark and roadmap for schools to make further improvement.

In 2020, Sir was recognised as the ‘Best Headmaster of the Year’ by the government of Telangana. The title that now rightly sits on his desk is a self-speaking memento and a source of inspiration to many who visit him.

Venkat Sir being awarded the National Award at the felicitation ceremony

Great work beckons great rewards. The biggest celebration for him came in 2021 when his continuous efforts as Mandal Education Officer for Mulugu & Markut block, were rewarded with a National-level award for Innovations in Educational Administration. Ironically, as big as the achievement is, Venkata sir merely passed on this bit of information during our conversation as coyly as possible.
After all, the greatness of all superheroes lies in their humbleness.

The copy of the National Award

Sir has been modelling numerous other small to big initiatives to ensure the students have equal opportunities to shape their future to the best of their abilities. No doubt his voice emanated immense pride while sharing that his school has been registering 100% passing results in the last 5 years. After interacting with him, I was not just filled with immense excitement to write this story but was moved by the integrity with which he functions in his role. And most importantly inspired to bring the same reverence into my work.

Meet the Author

Sonal Bhasin

A hopeful dreamer who prefers to breathe in a fictional world of a good book than in the real one, a designer who wishes to make the world more aesthetic, colorful and beautiful than she found it to be, and the communication lead for ShikshaLokam in pursuit of becoming a storyteller. Sonal is an education enthusiast, who has herself been teaching for over 12 years and strongly believes in the power of education, opportunity and hard work.