Whenever we celebrate Madras Week, we don’t forget to recall the glorious past of the educational institutions in the city started by the British.
One such institution is the College of Engineering, Guindy, started as Madras Survey School on May 17, 1794, with eight students.
Prof M. Sekar, dean, College of Engineering, and an alumnus of the college, said engineering education entered India through CEG as the British started the college to train people to conduct survey from Kanyakumari to the then Madras.
Until 1925, we had British scholars as principals. It was Dr Nagarathinam Iyer who became the first Indian principal in 1925.
The college has produced several stalwarts and one such person is Verghese Kurien, father of White Revolution, Prof Sekar said.
Another remarkable educational institution is the St. George’s School and Orphanage on Poonamallee high road, started 297 years ago. Rev W. Stevenson, the chaplain of Fort St. George, started the school as St. Mary’s Church Charity School in 1715 with 30 children.
The school was the first to be founded by the Church of England in India. The school has featured in several movies as court, police commissioner’s office, etc.
Reminiscing about his schooldays, A. Ganesh, a student, said, “We learnt English from Anglo-Indian teachers who emphasised on correct pronunciation.
The school once had a large swimming pool, too, which could not withstand the onslaught of time. The institution has produced many illustrious people.” The Government College of Fine Arts in Egmore too has a 160 year old legacy.