St Mary's Convent High School (alternatively St Mary's Convent Girl's High School) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

primary and secondary school for girls located on Foujdari Road in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

in the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It was founded as a part of

St Bonaventure's High School St Bonaventure's High School (formerly St Bonaventure's Boys' High School) is a Private school, private Catholic school, Catholic primary and secondary school, located on Foujdari Road in Saddar (Hyderabad), Saddar, Hyderabad, Sindh, Hyderabad in ...

specifically aimed at the educational needs of girls in the city. The convent is run by resident nuns of the Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad.

History

: ''For a history of the parent school, see History of St Bonaventure's High School'' During the 1920s and early 1930s the missionary establishments in the southern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

laid foundations for a school in Hyderabad directly run under the church to provide education for the local people and impart religious teaching. At the time the school was established, there were about 50 schools for boys and 6 for girls. A parish priest named Archilles Meersman, principal of

Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi St Patrick's High School is a Catholic school, Catholic primary and secondary school located in Saddar Town, Sindh, Karachi, Pakistan. Founded by the Society of Jesus, Jesuits in 1861, the school is the second-oldest school in Karachi.Ali, G. a ...

, revived the state of the school in the years of the partition and introduced better curricula, revised under the

Catholic Board of Education The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. This new school was named

. Once Pakistan acquired independence, it was clear that the nation would be an Islamic sovereign state, so a need arose for the gender-based separation of the coeducational school. The new wing founded for girls was named St Mary's Convent High School after

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, the mother of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. The

Board of Education took charge of the development and running of the school and erected a church in the memory of Saint

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

for his services in

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and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The church and the school buildings are regarded as cultural heritage monuments in Hyderabad. Running under the Christian administration, the schools imparted very high standards of education to upper and middle class students until 1972, when these were

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

over by the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

government of

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. It was not until 1992 that with the change of government the schools were denationalised and the ownership was returned to the Catholic diocese. Most Christian institutions in other parts of the country were denationalised in June 2001. Privatized again in the 1990s, the schools could not retain the quality education seen before nationalization and have not recovered yet.

Organisation

Administration

The school is administered by the Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad. The day-to-day affairs and the running of the school is headed by the principal (currently Rev. Sr. Sarwat Iqbal FMM) while the administrative posts are usually overseen by lay members of the Church.

Teaching and facilities

The campus consists of three buildings with two paved playgrounds. It has

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

laboratories and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

teaching rooms. The school provides for the needs of students from religious minorities and has separate classes for non-Muslims and Muslims in order to equip them with knowledge of their respective religions. The teaching standards accepted a blow during its nationalisation with a further setback when Islamic reforms were introduced in December 1982. The Christian administration was unsure how to go ahead with the new teaching curriculum but gathered teachers who could provide religious studies like

Islamiyat Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

. The school is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-medium school, but had to incorporate teachings in both English and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

to provide education to a more diverse student population.

Student body

The school caters to students ranging from nursery up to the 12th grade, with each grade having three sections (A, B, and C). While the students are initially given places in the sections, they are further divided into four different houses namely Unity, Faith, Discipline and Truth after the pillars of

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

. The house classification is mainly for sporting activities that include

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, and other extracurricular activities such as

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compel ...

singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

competitions. Twelve office bearers are appointed every year from year ten who assist the principal and teachers in maintaining the day to day discipline of the school. These include a president and vice president who represent as spokespersons of the student body as a whole and are assisted by the other ten office bearers. As in the year 2004-2005 Versha Shardha and Warda Mateen were the president and vice president respectively who worked hard to maintain the discipline and inforce all the rules and regulation in the school. The remaining office bearers serve as presidents and vice presidents of the four houses, with two serving as president and vice president of sports. Each house also assigns 45 prefects based on academic and sporting excellence, who help maintain order in the school.

Student life

The school has affiliations with the Pakistan Girl Guides Association and enrols students to become girl guides who would indulge in activities like first aid trainings and organising rallies. Girl guides are awarded with honorary shields for valour at the end of their school terms. The curricula includes

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, English, Urdu, Sindhi,

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

of Pakistan, computer sciences,

physical training Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physica ...

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

and

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

as compulsory subjects until year eight. In years nine and ten, preference is given to science subject, whereas arts and humanities options are not available to students who may wish to opt for them. Non-Muslim Students are given the option to either take

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

and

civics In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics ...

, whereas Muslim students attend

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

classes by default. Recreational activities include dramatics and music. The school does not have a dramatics club, however students take part in many plays organised by various teachers. The performances take place on either of the two stages on the school campus, one of which is indoors and the other outdoors. The school also has a marching band, which plays daily at the assembly and takes part in various competitions on a district and national level. Two annual awards functions take place usually in January to award students and recognise them for achievements in academics and sports.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Convent High School (Hyderabad) Schools in Hyderabad, Sindh Girls' schools in Pakistan Catholic elementary and primary schools in Pakistan Catholic secondary schools in Pakistan

Educational institutions established in the 1930s