Cocooned within the peaceful environs of Sir Ratan Tata Colony, Sir Cowasjee Jehangir (C. J.) High School is just off the busy, cacophonic Tardeo Road. The cry of the koel welcomes the students and staff into the vibrant blue-pink School building fronted with blooming bougainvillea and tall trees.
"My greatest pride is seeing the happy faces of our students who long to come to School even on a Saturday,” says School trustee Freny Jehangir. With a background in education, Jehangir regularly interacts with the children of the pre-primary and primary section during outdoor games to gain insights into the current needs and working of the School.
When well-known industrialist and philanthropist Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney established the School in 1859, it was for the benefit of the Parsi girl child. With barely a couple of Parsi students amidst a total strength of 1,200 students today, the coeducational School caters largely to first-generation learners from the underserved neighborhoods of Tardeo, Worli and Nagpada. As an English medium, aided private school following the Maharashtra State Board curriculum for Stds. 1 to 10, students are not required to pay tuition fees. They do however need to pay miscellaneous charges for the gamut of extracurricular activities such as singing, elocution, debates and drama that are offered to them.
Principal Sarosh Jijina who joined the School as a teacher 25 years ago took pride in mentioning, "In the academic year 2024-25, the School won the second prize for its Science project as well as the first prize for group singing when competing in the Municipality’s C and D wards. The School has a functional Interact Club under the auspices of the Rotary Club of Bombay Central. It also offers National Cadet Corps (a youth organization that aims to develop character, comradeship, discipline, leadership, spirit of adventure and selfless service) and Scouts and Guides training as optional subjects. Besides this, the School provides volleyball and cricket coaching, and some of our students have even played for the prestigious Harris Shield inter-school cricket tournament. The School has two counsellors who help with mental health issues. The Rotary and Inner Wheel clubs also conduct a yearly medical camp as well as career counselling.”
As far as infrastructure goes, C. J. School is equipped for the 21st century with a computer lab and digital classrooms. In 2019, the Rotary Club of Mumbai Central supported the School with installation of solar panels and the following year rainwater harvesting was introduced. When asked about the changes that they have seen in the School over the years, both Jijina and the secondary section supervisor Mufida Chistty who too has been a teacher here for 25 years commended the management for upgrading the infrastructure.
Top, from l: founder Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney; School entrance; Sir Cowasji Jehangir, 2nd Bart;
above: gardening activity (l); classroom
1st row: building of Sir Cowasjee Jehangir High School;
2nd row: Scouts and Guides group;
3rd row: Mufida Chistty (ext l) and principal Sarosh Jijina (7th from l)
with students displaying their craft creations;
students celebrating education week;
bottom row: Teachers’ Day gathering at the School
Staff with Rotary Club of Bombay Central members who
installed solar panels and rainwater harvesting
Jijina (l) with Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla
While the government’s "No Failure” policy until eighth grade has permitted students to take studies lightly, the School enourages them to study diligently. Parents too are offered literacy classes under the Saksharta Mission.
Sham Desale, secondary science teacher, lauded the School for giving freedom to teachers to use innovative methods. According to Desale, their students coming from non-English speaking homes find it difficult to express themselves. An experiential approach promoted by the Government’s New Education Policy helps students to understand concepts better. Desale encourages students to write answers in their own words to ascertain their comprehension.
"I am a proud student of this School and I’ve spent 33 years as part of the teaching faculty,” stated Sushila Dhanawade who heads the primary section. "Earlier, teachers were stricter which helped instill discipline. Now, with nuclear families, dependence on technology and processed food, children crave for instant gratification. Their resilience levels are lower leading to frustration vis-à-vis failure.” Dhanawade tries her best to improve their communication skills in English through value-based stories. Another ex-student of the school, Kashmira Vankadia, heading the pre-primary section, echoes Dhanawade’s views. For 20 years Vankadia conducted classes for the Maharashtra State scholarship exams at the Std 5 level.
Many of their alumni comprise doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants. Among those who recently appeared for their grade 10 Secondary School Certificate board examinations was head girl Sia Pardesi and head boy Rahul Warang. Pardesi is a state level volleyball player and is preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (for medical and dental courses) with her sights set on becoming a cardiologist. Warang, who is preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (for admission to engineering courses), is interested in becoming an Artificial Intelligence/data scientist. Both the students expressed their gratitude to the School for its emphasis on holistic development and the encouragement of caring teachers. In their opinion, the main hurdle that students face is the lack of confidence and conversational skills.
Many of the support staff of the School also had children studying here. "My child has done her MBA (Master of Business Administration) now,” said one while another said her son is studying in the seventh standard. They had fulsome praise for the staff and management.
Among the teaching faculty are 10 Parsis. The School honors its Parsi heritage by starting each day with Parsi prayers, holding a jashan ceremony twice a year, giving holidays during the Gatha days and sponsoring the fees of Parsi students.
In addition to Freny Jehangir, the other trustees at the helm of the Institute, all connected with the founder’s family, are: Jehangir H. C. Jehangir (chairman), Adi H. Jehangir (secretary) and Jasmine J. Jehangir. Over the years different members of the family have given generous donations and shown interest in keeping alive the founder’s dream as recounted in the history on the School’s website sircjhs.com. Readymoney who started the Girls School in Khetwadi, looked after it until his death in 1878. His son, Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir, 1st Baronet gave a handsome donation towards another School building in Khetwadi in 1903 and the family continued to look after it until 1929. Bai Cooverbai D. Mama, the founder’s niece, bequeathed Rs 2,15,000 which financed the construction of a new School building at its present location in 1938. At the same time, Lady Dhunbai Cowasji Jehangir donated Rs 70,000 in memory of her husband, the first baronet.
The School boasts of a large multipurpose hall as well as a volleyball court adjoining its main building. A playground is situated just outside Sir Ratan Tata Colony. The brightly painted junior school with its lilac interiors and heritage wooden staircase is housed across the street from the secondary school building.
Making a difference in the lives of socially disadvantaged children in central Bombay, the School is taking forward the mission of the New Education Policy (2020) which aims to equip students with "not only cognitive development but also building character and creating holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with 21st century skills.”