A beacon of women’s education in Kulasekarapattinam for 120 years  Premium

Kulasekarapattinam's journey from a sleepy village to fame through women's education by CD Nayagam, impacting generations.

Kulasekarapattinam, a coastal town near Thoothukudi, is known for the Mutharamman Temple, where lakhs of devotees assemble during Dussehra and a rocket launchpad has been proposed by the Indian Space Research Organisation. But the journey of this sleepy village to fame began 120 years ago with the launch of a school for girls in 1904 and a teachers’ training institute in 1947. The man instrumental in securing the village a place in women’s education was Chettikulam Deivanayagam, known as CD Nayagam. He was an educationist, pioneer in women’s education, and a close friend of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy. It was in his house in Chennai that Periyar married Maniammal and during his visit to the school in 1941, Periyar identified himself as a journalist from Erode.

According to the biography Tamilar Kavalar CD Nayagam, he was 26 when he started the school, which was named after his wife Thayammal who died young. A few years after it started, the unique teaching methods followed by Thayammal Girls’ School drew the attention of the British government. “Special attention is being paid to the teaching of elementary science and natural study. A good kindergarten is kept by the children. Music is also taught. Every effort is being made to educate the children for their future life. The clay work and mat weaving were good. So was the drill,” says a report from the sub-assistant inspectress of school, Tinnevelly Girls Range, in 1908. The Bombay-based weekly, Indian Social Reformer, described the school as “another instance of self-help in female education”. “In addition to educating the girls, the institution is striving to popularise education among mothers and elderly women. The founder of the institution is doing his best to place them on a permanent footing, and we have no doubt that he will get the support of the educated and well-to-do section of the community,” it wrote, highlighting the lack of financial support for the school.

“His aim was to provide education to widows and women abandoned by their husbands. Preference was given to women from backward and oppressed classes,” said school secretary Ramasundarasubramanian. A report in Kudiyarasu, run by Periyar, says how a widowed daughter of a barber in Thanjavur, who could not join a school, was admitted to the Kulasekarapattinam school. Nayagam, the grandfather of C.N. Deivanayagam, the renowned chest physician, was a pioneer in introducing free meals to students. As the attendance was thin in the beginning, he introduced midday meals. It encouraged students from faraway places to join the school. In 1930, he started a residential school in the name of his mother Valliammaiar. The school offered free education, hostel, and food for girls. In 1933, he started a school at T. Nagar in Chennai.

Nayagam also followed communal reservation in admission. In 1935, the student strength was 241 and 48 of them stayed in the hostel. There were 24 SCs, 18 BCs (Nadars), three Isai Vellalas, and three Vellalas. As he was keen on getting jobs for the students, Nayagam started a teachers’ training institute in 1947. Valliammaiar Hindu Teachers’ Training Institute at Kulasekarapattinam became a symbol of empowerment of generations of women. “All my sisters studied at the teachers’ training school and became teachers. It changed their lives forever. Now, they lead a happy retired life with their children and grandchildren,” says K.R. Subbulakshmi, a retired teacher and daughter of Rajagopalakambar, the late nagaswaram player of the Tiruchendur temple.

The teachers’ training institute was closed in 2017 as it could not get enough students. Today, Thayammal Middle School and Valliammaiar Girls Higher Secondary School function against all odds with 250 students. Most of the students are from the weaker section. They get breakfast and midday meals. Proliferation of English medium schools in neighbouring areas poses a challenge to these schools which follow Tamil medium. Subha Deivanagayam, a joint secretary of the trust that runs the schools, says, “For whatever reason, there is a demand for the education we offer. We will try our best to continue serving the children who need our service.”