Ludhiana’s meritorious sr sec school struggles to hold on to top talent

A noticeable shift has been observed in student preference from meritorious schools to schools of eminence; the latter are non-residential, better equipped, and more modern

As the third round of counselling for Class 11 admissions to meritorious schools concluded on Friday, Ludhiana’s Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students finds itself grappling with a major setback- 75 seats, including 15 for boys and 60 for girls, still remain vacant. What is more alarming is that over 45 students who had earlier taken admission have already withdrawn, many just days after joining classes.

The third round of counselling ongoing at meritorious school in Ludhiana on Friday. (HT Photo)

In this third round, girls ranked between 1651 and 2754, and boys ranked between 945 and 1696 were called for counselling. But despite the school having a total capacity of 500 seats, interest continues to dwindle. Principal Satwant Kaur confirmed that more rounds of counselling may be conducted to fill the remaining seats. She also revealed that at least eight students did not report to school even after attending the initial counsellings.

“Some of them left citing psychological reasons like homesickness. In many cases, even parents came personally, pleading to send their children back home,” said Kaur. She added that students who had attended provisional classes at other institutions preferred to return to those familiar campuses instead of adjusting to the boarding setup of meritorious schools.

While the state government inaugurated the infra works at various government schools under the “Punjab Sikhya Kranti” programme, the Ludhiana meritorious school remains a neglected chapter. Despite hosting some of the state’s brightest minds, the school suffers from alarming infrastructure issues, especially in its hostels and washrooms.

The boys’ hostel, with five blocks housed in two buildings (one from 1958 and the other built in 2014), has seen only a single renovation in more than a decade. Many rooms have broken window panes and damaged mesh, leading to poor ventilation and unhygienic conditions.

Students from Class 12 voiced deep concern. “The tiles in the washrooms are loose, rooms are in miserable condition. No one seems to care,” said one student. In the girls’ hostel, the story is equally grim. “Water seeps through the ceilings when someone uses the floor above. It’s disgusting and unsafe,” shared a student.

In sweltering summer heat, nearly 60 air coolers serve over 850 students, woefully insufficient for a school of its size. The lack of basic amenities has added to students’ discomfort.

District education officer (secondary) Dimple Madaan said she is in active talks with the deputy commissioner and a corporate group to release funds under a CSR initiative to improve the school’s infrastructure. “I am regularly following up and keeping a close tab,” she assured.

Despite its academic promise, Ludhiana’s meritorious school stands at a critical juncture, where the lack of attention to its crumbling infrastructure risks overshadowing the very merit it was built to nurture.