History of  Salem Girls Higher Secondary School, Raipur

Salem Girls  Higher Secondary School, Raipur  one of the oldest educational institutions for girls in Chhattisgarh, started as  a pioneering  venture of  the American Evangelical Mission  for  providing education to  girls  in Chhattisgarh way back in  1903. The mission started its work in this area  in 1868. Among other activities, education  of children was  the main concern of the missionaries who  started a number of primary schools  in the remote villages of Chhattisgarh in  1870's. These  primary schools were handed  over to the  government  some time after 1947.

Two ladies namely Mrs. Stole and Mrs. Gass, in the year 1903, gathered      few girls and started  teaching. Even  in the face of  social prejudices  against school education   for girls, both the ladies came forward  boldly.  Seeing  their determination to  run the school, a solitary missionary  lady    Miss Uffman was trusted with the responsibility of   running the school in  1904. She with a  lot of patience and sense of perseverance, visited  door to door,  met the parents and persuaded  a few of them to  send their daughters to her school.     In 1908 a middle school was started under the  charge of  Miss Wobus. Now there  were eight grades   in all ---- four primary classes and  four  middle school classes.

The School is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi and prepares girls for the All India Secondary School Examination, Class X and the All India Senior School Certificate Examination, Class XII. The medium of instruction and examination in the school is English. Hindi is also taught as a Core Language and Sanskrit is taught from Class VI to Class VIII. Instruction is provided in the Science, Humanities and Commerce Streams in the +2 classes of the C.B.S.E syllabus. The school also provides Information Technology as an additional subject in Class X.

With more and more  girls coming into the school, a need for   trained unmarried lady  teachers  was felt. After the opening of  the boarding house, accommodation  was provided to  teachers too, who could stay  within the school  premises. The expenses were met from the  contributions made by   Miss Firtiz and her sister.  Miss. Wobus managed the  school till 1923 and then handed over  the charge of the school  and  that of the boarding house to  Miss L.A. Kiess  who  worked for short span of  time.  On November 29 1927, the total responsibility was  entrusted to Miss Schaeffer , the well known and  beloved  lady missionary who latter become  household name in  this  area for more than forty years. Miss. Schaeffer's name  in the  field     of  girls'  education can not be forgotten,  and  it deserves to be  written in golden words. 
 

On January 08, 1930 at an impressive function, the foundation stone  of the main school building  was laid  in presence of 500 spectators who participated in the  act of praise and prayer.  Miss H Schaeffer, Rev. Dr. J Gass,  Dr. T.C.  Seybold  and Miss L.A.  Kiess jointly laid the  foundation stone. With the  foundation stone, copies of some magazines one of which  carried the history of  Salem School, photos of  Miss Peters  and Miss H. Schaeffer  and  few    Indian coins in currency at the time were put in a box.  The  Inspector of  Schools  was also  present on  the  occasion. Upto  1950, the school  was known as Salem Girls Middle School. Miss H Schaeffer had to look after   over 150 girls  in the boarding house and 30-35  lady teachers.  Besides, a number of primary schools  in different parts of the city  as  well as quite  a big number of  schools in the district were under her charge.  It was therefore  strongly felt that  the  middle school  be  upgraded to make it   a high school  which meant  opening of three  higher classes. There were  well qualified and dedicated lady teachers  who rendered  their services  to this  institution. Miss H. Laurentius (Head Mistress) ,  Miss L. Nandi , Miss G. Solomon and Miss.  A Karim are  few  of them to name.  Their names   go along with the history of  Salem School    for their  dedicated services.  Miss N. David was the  first Principal of this school. After she had left this place, the responsibilities were  again shifted to  Miss  H. Laurentius  who worked as  officiating Principal  during   1963-64.  From July  1965 Mr.  John Samuel worked as acting Principal. He continued  upto May 1967. From June  1967 to   November 1990  Mrs. C. Francis  worked as Principal.  The other  Principals of this school were Miss S Jacob (1990-95)  Miss I. S. Tirkey (1995-2003),   Miss V Tirkey ( 2003-04)  and Mrs. S. Waghe ( 2004 - presently  in office). The school has earned a good name all over the erstwhile  Madhya Pradesh state. It has produced innumerable  meritorious students  who have brought laurels  in  all spheres. The school is famous for its  punctuality and discipline.  In brief,  it has become a centre of attraction  for thousands of  the city. The luster of the five lamps of Truth, Service, Love, Patience and Sacrifice can be distinctively seen  in this school.   

Courtesy:  School magazine Piyush  (1985-86).