Nostalgia marks 120-year celebrations of Kilagada Govt School in ASR dist

Visakhapatnam: A wave of nostalgia swept through Kilagada village on Thursday as former students, serving and retired employees from various sectors, and retired teachers gathered to inaugurate the two-day centenary celebrations of the Government School in Munchingiputtu mandal of Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district. Several alumni and former teachers, who travelled from different parts of Andhra Pradesh to attend the event, were visibly emotional as they revisited their alma mater. Former students said it was a matter of immense pride that a government school in a tribal hamlet was celebrating 120 years in such a grand manner. They recalled that the school, established by the British in 1905 as a primary school, began with just one teacher and a handful of students before being upgraded over the decades into a government high school offering education from Classes I to X. On the first day of the celebrations, the Sri Ambidi Appanna Vaijnanika Kala Vedika, built by Atmatrupti Charitable Trust, was inaugurated on the school premises. A book titled "Centenary Celebrations of Kilagada School and History of Kilagada Village" was released by former and retired teacher Sasibhushana Rao. Eighty-five-year-old Vanthinibha Kondaiah—who was born and brought up in Kilagada, studied at the school, later served there as a teacher, and retired from the same institution—was felicitated on the occasion. Over the past ten decades, the school has produced several notable alumni, including teachers, doctors, engineers, banking professionals, police and forest officials, corporate leaders, and political figures. The centenary celebrations will conclude on Friday, organisers said.