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Jericho
St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School
NAGAMANGALAM, TRICHY, TAMIL NADU
The establishment of St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School in 1984 was a step further to fulfill the objectives of Jericho Training centre which was started in 1982 by Fr. A. Antony. Along with other services which were provided by the centre to the physically and visually challenged children, the need for providing primary education was felt strongly so that these children may have a better future.
This school which started with standards I to IV with about 100 children, now has developed into a fully fledged Higher Secondary school with about 1100 students (about 600 girls and 500 boys) on its rolls. Of these there are about 102 physically challenged and about 45 blind students. Recognizing the efforts of Fr. Antony since its inception, the Tamil Nadu Government upgraded the school to Secondary level in 1989. After the demise of Fr. Antony in 2000, his younger brother Fr. A.J.Anbarasan also a blind person but well qualified continued the good work and further upgraded the school to Higher Secondary level in 2004.

Presently, the school has 24 teaching and 7 support staff.

HOSTEL FACILITY
The two Hostels accommodate about 250 students (about 130 girls & 120 boys). The boys section is called Anbu IIllam and the girls section is called Maria Illam. Hostel accommodation is given to very poor students coming from far off places. The two hostels are managed by two dedicated staff under the supervision of the Director Fr. Anbarasan. Besides regular school, the hostel students are given extra coaching to cope with their educational needs.

CO CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
1. SPORTS & GAMES – The students are encouraged to participate in sports and games organized by the school. In the past, students have represented their school at the district and state level sports meet. Some have even won prizes for their school. To further their interest in games, a basketball court was constructed and inaugurated on 26thApril 2014 by Rev. Fr. Felix Raj, SJ, who is the new President.

2. VOCATIONAL TRAINING – Along with regular education, the high schools students are given training in agriculture, envelope making, manufacturing rubber products which are supplied to companies, the objective being to make them self reliant.

3. COMMUNITY BASED REHABILITATION (CBR) – The school also facilitates CBR in the rural areas. This helps to equip physically challenged persons to adapt to their home situation and lead a normal and productive life.

4. COMPUTER TRAINING
– Though high school students undergo computer education as part of their regular curriculum, special job oriented training is provided in computer application. The school is planning to introduce computers from 6th standard onwards.

SCHOLARSHIPS

1. The school provides scholarships to poor students to continue their education. They are also encouraged to continue their higher education after passing out from the school and the school takes responsibility for their financial support.

2. To encourage and motivate students to perform better, every year the school awards Rev. Fr. A. Antony Memorial prizes to 1st rank holders in the Class X and XII Board exam.

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT
In order to support and carry forward the dream of his maternal uncles Fr. A. Antony (who was his main inspiration to priesthood), and Fr. Anbarasan, Fr. Felix Raj, SJ helped in the expansion of the school. Since he became its President in 2012, the two wash rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls, were renovated. The main gate to the school was constructed and recently a Basketball court was made and inaugurated in April 2014.

St. Joseph Higher Secondary School has a bright future. In the next 5 years it is expected to develop further especially the Vocational section which will make these children self reliant.

FUTURE PLANS:
1. To increase the number of vocational and job oriented courses.
2. To provide refresher courses for staff
3. To strengthen co curricular activities for overall development of students
4. To strengthen community based rehabilitation
5. To increase the strength of students and staff 6. To continue with scholarships and prizes to encourage higher education.