Oldest Forest govt. school in Jawadhu Hills secures 95% in Plus Two examinations
After many years, students of the Forest Government Higher Secondary School in Pudur Nadu, a small tribal village in Jawadhu Hills, secured a pass percentage of 95 in 2025 Plus Two examinations.
Among three higher secondary schools run by the Forest Department under Tribal Welfare Fund since 1950, Pudur Nadu school had the best total pass percentage. Other two forest schools in Jamunamarathur (Tiruvannamalai) and Nellivasal (Tirupattur) got 89% and 88% respectively.
Of total 119 students, 113 students, including 49 girls, passed with more than 70% of them getting first class marks in the examinations. These students come from 18 remote tribal hamlets in the hills from where they trek around 12 km to reach school. 'Special coaching for students, who are poor in certain subjects, helped them clear the examinations. We want our daughter to pursue higher education in Tirupattur town,' said B. Pankajam, a parent.
Collector K. Sivasoundaravalli, District Forest Officer (DFO) M. Mahendran and Chief Educational Officer (CEO) R. Punniyakoti appreciated the efforts of students and teachers of the school.
Built in 1919, the school is the oldest forest higher secondary school in Tamil Nadu. In 1977, the school became a high school before it was upgraded into higher secondary level in 1996. Currently, the school has a total of 536 students including 232 girls. 'Support of parents, teachers, forest officials led by forest ranger K.R. Cholarajan were crucial for students' success in the examinations. Students travel long distances on foot to attend classes,' said headmaster R. Kumaran.
Pudur Nadu village comprises 32 tribal hamlets including Puliyur, Melur, Thagarakuppam, Perumpalli, Chinnavattam and Bellur with more than 30,000 voters.
Education officials said it was not an easy achievement for these tribal students in Pudur Nadu. They have to walk several kilometres to reach the school as buses cannot be operated due to steep terrain.
Classes for subjects like commerce and physics were taken jointly at Pudur Nadu school as forest school in Nellivasal, 14 km away, does not have adequate teachers. Most of the 18 teachers including the headmaster stay late in the school to complete evening classes on all days except Sundays.
At present, except one forest school in Top Slip (Pollachi), 17 other schools are located in Jawadhu Hills covering Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Tirupattur. Among them, Tiruvannamalai has the highest number of 11 schools, followed by Tirupattur (7).
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