Education Stalwarts 2021 | Mr. T.V. Srinivasa Murthy, Chairman of St. Philomenas Public School | Leaders in Education
Mr. T.V. Srinivasa Murthy, Chairman of St. Philomenas Public School, one of the top Leaders in Education is with EducationToday sharing his experience.
I hail from a modest farmer family, and I am the eldest son in the family. My schooling took place in a small village called Thogarighatta, that is located in Tumkur district. I completed my graduation in Geology in Tumkur, and started my career at the age of 22 with Prajavani, Deccan Herald News paper, as a Marketing Executive, and then became a Marketing Manager and served 36 years in the field.
I began my journey in education in the year 2007. So far, I have spent 13 years of my life in it, and having developed an immense passion for this field, I am willing to dedicate the rest of my life to it. It was a journey filled with passion, enthusiasm, and hardships.
When I was a marketing manager, I met many newspaper agents and interacted with them very closely. They used to share their problems and happiness with me, and I happened to witness most of them struggling to give good education to their children. I used to help them in whichever way possible. This made me think and realize the importance of imparting education to such needy children, especially to those who come from rural areas. And, this dream of mine came true in the year 2007.
When I started my school in the village Byalakere (Shivakote Post), which is in North Bengaluru, most parents were illiterate. My biggest challenge was to convince them about the importance of education in the lives of their children. I struggled to get qualified and experienced teachers to provide excellent and quality education to the students residing in these rural areas. I used to send teachers to the students’ houses to interact with the parents, to get an understanding of the real situation of the student’s family. This measure that I came up with, drastically resulted in the teachers concentrating wholeheartedly on the holistic development of their students, and created a bridge between the teachers, students and parents.
Every single day in the field of education is a challenging one, and we try our best to overcome it despite all the obstacles we face. One of the most significant challenges is the change in the attitudes of growing children. We try to analyze and provide counselling on a one-to-one basis. I want to educate my students with human and social values. I aim to improve the quality of education and reach out to the areas where the quality of education is limited.
In my journey as an educator, my greatest inspiration has been my son, Dr. Akhilesh (MD, FRCA-UK, FRCA-Dublin), who practices in London. He supports and encourages me in many ways as we both hold the same vision of providing quality education to students coming from rural areas. My wife Mrs. Bharathi Srinivasa a Managing Trustee of my Institution, is the biggest source of support and encouragement. Special thanks to my wife for inspiring me daily to achieve and succeed. And, my friend and well-wisher, Mr. N. Venkatesh, Executive Engineer PWD (retd) has supported me in constructing a well-planned and beautiful infrastructure, and a spacious campus. I have met many visionaries in the course of my journey who have motivated me in many ways to overcome all the difficulties that I may face along my way.
Every year, I, along with my students and staff participate in the “Wild Life Conservation Programme” that is conducted by the Karnataka Forest Department, to acquire practical awareness in protecting plants, various animal species and their habitats. I have received an appreciation award from the Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Vajubhai Vala for the same.
When I look back, I feel that I have devoted my life to a significant cause. My students’ love, the dedication of my staff to their work, and gentle support I receive from all of them, have majorly motivated me, and given me a strong will to carry forward my responsibilities. I feel immensely proud to say that my school is rated as one of the top 10 schools in our country.
My family has always shown their generous support by providing me with strength and encouragement throughout my journey. I would like to mention another significant support – Mrs. Vani Gopal, the Principal of my institution. She has been motivating and supporting me for more than a decade. Now she has beautifully shaped and impressively sculpted the institution. My team of teachers, parents, and students have strived a lot to bring name and fame to my institution.
I strongly believe that education is the foundation of success and is the lifelong learning process. I am giving more emphasis towards educating girl children, especially in rural areas. I remember the old proverb, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate the family”. So, I feel that everybody should follow this and try to contribute towards eradicating illiteracy in our country. We should teach students to face the failures in life, and come out as successful beings. This will lead to a progressive and depression-free society, which should be the ultimate goal.
Do check out experiences shared by our top 50 leaders in education. All of the Leaders in education who have shared their experience with us have been motivating and life changing.
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