An old world charm with its imposing buildings of Osmanian architecture, a spectacular sight to behold right on the bustling Begumpet main road. That’s right! It’s none other than the famed Hyderabad Public School originally Jagirdars’ College started in 1923 during the reign of H.E.H. Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, ruler of the Hyderabad State. HPS as the school is popularly known is recognized as one of the best lower educational institutions in India with many accolades to its name.
Though Jagirdars’ College was established as a fully residential school for the feudal elite on the lines of Eton College by H.E.H. Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII on the advice of the Hon’ble H Weikfield, Director General of the Court of Wards, it evolved into a more egalitarian institution with the abolition of the zamindari system in 1951 and was rechristened as the Hyderabad Public School in 1952. The credit for the school’s Osmanian architecture goes to Vincent Esch, a British architect, whose brilliance made it a lasting heritage landmark. It would be remiss to talk about this uniqueness of the school without mentioning the untiring but fruitful efforts of Kuruvilla Jacob. Armed with a formidable reputation as an educationist, Kuruvilla Jacob as Principal of HPS (1962- 69) revamped the school which was doing badly then, and made it one of the leading institutions of the country attracting students from all over.
Alumni from older batches would proudly boast that the school was bigger than the Vatican- a testimony to its huge grounds with space for practically every sport. Running between classrooms to attend different classes was a particular challenge for students and teachers alike. Shahzadi Jahandarunissa Begum, daughter of H.H. Nawab Afzal ud-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V, sister of H.H. Nawab Mahboob Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, and wife of Sir Viqar ul Umra from the premier noble Paigah family donated most of the land for the school. An exclusive male domain , the school opened its doors to girls to become a co-educational institution in 1980. Since then girls and boys have marched shoulder to shoulder with equal opportunity and success.
Satya Nadella-CEO, Microsoft, Sailesh Jejurikar- Global President, Proctor & Gamble, Harsha Bhogle- Journalist & Cricket Commentator, Kiran Kumar Reddy- Former Chief Minister, united Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy- Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, Rana Daggubati- Telugu cine actor, Syed Akbaruddin- India’s Permanent Representative at the UN, T K Kurien- CEO, WIPRO, Talat Aziz- renowned ghazal singer and many more stalwarts in different fields have passed out of the portals of HPS living true to the school’s motto “Be Vigilant” and flying high as the legendary Shaheen the school emblem. Akin to the superior nature of the Shaheen facing conflicts resolutely and charting pathways, HPS alumni have done the school proud. CEOs of multinationals, power wielding politicians, acclaimed policy makers, high ranking bureaucrats, influential writers and journalists, talented artistes, etc., owe their gratitude to this alma mater.
As the school is in its centenary year, celebrations have been kickstarted with notable events scheduled for the entire year. 31 March 23 was one such red-letter day with the inauguration of the Olympic sized swimming pool of dimensions: 150 meters by 21 meters, with a deck surface of 6000 sft and eight lanes. The swimming pool complex can accommodate 1000 people at a time. HPS is the first school in the country to feature an Olympic sized swimming pool and to also offer acrobatic and artistic swimming instruction. All this was possible with generous donations by HPS alumni. This is a mere example of the pride of place that the school takes in its students’ hearts.
What makes this school stand apart from the rest is not just its rich history, high standard of education, unparalleled plethora of co-curricular activities, NCC and a wide range of sporting activities but also its ability to inculcate in its students the capacity to survive the hardest test and to face challenges decisively.
HPS instills the confidence in its students to take the decision- the oft beaten track or the road not taken but in the end to have conviction in one’s choices. The fact that the school was selected in the list of ‘great places to study’ by the Global League Institute , an honor awarded by the British House of Commons, shows that HPS is poised to make a name on the international scene. The flight of the Shaheen continues to soar high!
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
