Yadvindra Public School Patiala turns 71-Dr Puri
Dr Jaswant Singh Puri/ royalpatiala.in/Patiala
Yadvindra Public School, Patiala is one of the eminent public schools founded by His Highness the Late Maharaja Yadvindra Singh in 1948, father of the Present Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh. The school has been rated as the ‘Future 50 Schools, shaping success by Fortune India’, a well-known human resource journal of India.
Closely associated with the erstwhile royal state of Patiala, the school is named after the late Yadvindra Singh. It has kept its grandeur and grace over the last six decades. The magnificent school is located on Stadium Road, Patiala. It is an English medium co-educational boarding school with ultra modern facilities. The examinations are conducted by the council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi. It is also a successor to the Local Examinations Syndicate of the Cambridge University. The school is credited with an overall development of personality of students. It has reached a sound strength of about 1600 students on rolls with highly efficient and educated staff of more than 100 distinguished teachers. It has a branch in Mohali also that was established on 09 April, 1979 under the patronage of Maharaja Amarinder Singh, now the Chief Minister of Punjab. It is spread over 25 acres of land.
In fact, Aitchison College, Lahore played a wonderful role in the foundation of Yadvindra Public School. It was not an ordinary college since it was earmarked for the affluent, the aristocrats, the princes, the siblings of Nawabs and so on. Maharaja Yadvindra Singh of Patiala was also a student of this prestigious college. But he was not in favour of imposing restrictions for admission of boys to Aitchion College. So an idea to open a Public School at Patiala Flashed across the mind of benevolent, compassionate and gracious Maharaja that would be open to all, irrespective of any restrictions of caste, creed, colour and clan. However, this noble idea got its shape after the riots of India-Pak partition in 1947. Maharaja’s contemporaries and influential citizens of Patiala pleaded His Highness to reconsider about the opening of a Public School at Patiala. The Maharaja had always been a devoted and an earnest harbinger of education.
He promptly accepted the genuine request of the needy people. Acting quickly on the idea to open a Public School, the then Rai Bahadur Dhani Ram Kapila, one of the distinguished teachers of His Highness and the Headmaster of Aitchion College was initiated to come to Patiala from Ludhiana on 11 October, 1947. On the 12th October, six member committee was constituted to stream line the plans and the generation of funds to execute and kick-start this people-interested and motivated project for the good cause of education.
30 October, 1947 was the fateful day to cater to the wishful longing when the committee members and reputed educationists selected the site for the school in the stadium and exhibition grounds. They were prompt enough to earmark a temporary building for the boarding house. With the tireless efforts of the devoted members and well-versed educationists, the Yadvindra Stadium offered site for classrooms and Bhupindra Kothi for boarding house. 02 February, 1948 was the fortunate day when the school started functioning with a small number of 21 students and nine teachers. Rai Bahadur Dhani ram Kapila was kind enough to join as the Principal where there were no constraints and restraints for the admission of students and anyone could seek admission without any distinction of caste, creed and religion.
In 1950, Rai Bahadur Dhani Ram Kapila suffered a partial paralysis and had to leave the job. Now Lieutenant Colonel Frank Von Goldstein took over the school administration. The school by virtue of its reputation had a steady and consistent progress in all the spheres like academics, sports and other curricular activities. Due to rising demand of Boarding School, the facilities of boarding house were expanded with its third opening in 1953. Keeping in view the persistent demand of the people, the school introduced coeducational system.
To add colour to the sphere of sports, certain areas were renovated and embellished. Now it is one of the leading public schools not only in the region but in the whole country. It bears the motto – ‘Vidya Vinay Veerta’ – i.e. inculcate bravery and humility through knowledge.
The school since its inception has progressed tremendously in all the realms. It has educated a lot number of students who are serving the society and the nation. At present, the school campus is spread in more than 45 acres of land. It has a well-equipped stadium with a 400 meter track, a Velodrome with multifarious features. There are three separate wings of the school for classes sixth to twelfth, classes first to fifth and a junior wing. There is, however, a tiny-tot block with excellent features.
There are separate boarding houses for the boys and the girls. There are four houses known as Mohindra House, Dhani Ram House, Phulkian House and Girls’ Boarding House. Each house has dormitories. However, keeping in view the modern life style, Mohindra House and the Phulkian House have been newly built. These houses are well looked after by competent House Masters and the Tutors etc. There is a Resident House Matron who looks after the hygiene and health. Moreover, a new Central Dining Hall is well equipped with modern kitchen.
The school caters to the sports facilities for all the major games as Cricket, Hockey, Soccer, Swimming, Athletics, Tennis, Shooting, Horse Riding, Squash and Archery. There is an amphitheatre and an indoor multipurpose hall and an auditorium. The school has a furnished 15 bed hospital where doctors and nurses regularly attend to students. Moreover, the school has constructed quarters to provide residential facilities to teaching staff and non-teaching staff. Treks and tours are an important part of the school curriculum. Adventure camps are organized from time to time which imbibe the spirit of adventure and leadership among the students. Tours are arranged regularly during the vacation in various parts of the country and abroad. Moreover, the lovers of lifting music also find a niche in the seven notes of music. Gardening, needle work, art and craft do find their place in the school. Book reading photography, chess, calligraphy, home science, robotics, creations of web designing out of waste are also a unique feature of the curriculum.
All the students are provided lunch in the school mess which is mandatory. Its aim is to prepare the students to acquaint them with table manners. In all, the school curriculum has been geared to develop personality of students so as to carve them into human beings with all traits and strong character so that they fit into all the spheres of life with confidence and determination.
