Minister Botsa to open a sparkling refurbished Unguturu ZP High School today

VIJAYAWADA

The 75-year-old Unguturu Zilla Parishad High School in Krishna district has acquired several new frills, thanks to the collective efforts the Department of School Education, AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) and service organisations like Rotary International, a US-based NGO, and old students led by NRO Bobba Venkatadri.

Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana will inaugurate the refurbished school building on Thursday.

Established in 1946 to cater to 6th to 10th grade students from the surrounding eight villages, the school lost its sheen with the emergence of privatisation of education, as children from economically privileged families opted for private schools. Over the years, the school building structure deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and meagre fund allocation. The current strength of the school is about 350 students and majority of them come from below poverty line families.

A group of donors recognised the need to improve basic amenities on the premises. The infrastructure development and modernisation works started in 2019 under the State-sponsored “Mana Badi-Nadu Nadu” and soon the campus was equipped with modern learning facilities like digital classrooms, internet and e-library thanks to the collective efforts of the State government, benevolence of donors, networking and facilitation support by APNRT Society and community leaders in Unguturu.

Bobba Venkatadri, an alumnus of the Unguturu ZPH School and an NRI from the U.S., initiated the school development project in 2019, with the help of like-minded friends and a few NGOs and guidance from the APNRT. “We were approached by Mr. Venkatadri for guidance in securing approvals from the government for the construction works,” said Venkat S. Medapati, president APNRT Society and Adviser to Government on NRI Affairs, informing that the works, however, came to a standstill in March 2020 on account of the outbreak of COVID pandemic.

Donors for the school project include U.S.-based NGO The Forgotten International, Rotary International, corporate donors in India like Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Chennai-based Tech India Pvt. Ltd., NRIs in the U.S. and individual donors.

The sparkling campus now has a drinking water plant, a new three-storey building in an area of 18,000 square feet and 18 spacious classrooms. Solar panels of 10 kV capacity have been installed to supply power to the campus, advanced Close Circuit Television (CCTV) security system, a separate spacious kitchen, stem labs, computer labs, a telemedicine station and digital classrooms to promote digital literacy and technology integration, are among the added features.