'Three years ago we aired a special to bring to attention ths deplorable conditions of some of the public schools in our state.One of such schools was Saraswati Vidya Niketan which didn't manage to have a single student to pass the matriculation that year.The school located in the slums was considered among the most violent,with gangs of students picking fights everyday.Student attendance was low and no new admissions had happened for the past two years.The year we aired the program,Mrs.Ashima Roy had taken on the helm of principal and had brought in sweeping reforms.In three years she had managed to raise the pass percentage of class 10 students by 71 percent and student attendence by 80 percent.She is seen proactively among the students who don't call their principal 'Madam' but rather 'Maa'.Now after five years,the diligent principal has been transferred to a new school.Today we are here to join the students as they give a teary farewell to their beloved principal.An exclusive report straight from Saraswati Vidya Niketan playground-'
The camera focussed on the grey haired woman in the middle of a crowd of students as she spoke'and remember my dear children, if nobody said they loved you today keep in mind that I do'A normal school day always ended with Mrs.Ashima saying these words during the assembly prayers before the students went home.
Today the students had tears in their eyes as they heard their principal say the line for the last time.When the bell rang,the school was over for that day and so was for Mrs.Ashima.But unlike the usual race for the gates,on this day no one moved from their queues.Mrs.Ashima was the first one who moved and was the first to exit the school gate that day,the students following behind her.She smiled to herself as she thought of the bizarre changes that occurred in one's life.Till yesterday she was the last person to leave the school and today she was the first.