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About Us
History
Kadwai:
A village that has been blessed by abundance of nature’s and its enterprising people.
However, whenever Kadwai is mentioned anywhere else in Konkan, it is not for what nature brings or what its people are, because that every Konkani may claim the same about their village.
What is mentioned respectfully is how much Kadwai has contributed to the educational growth of Konkanis.
The fount of that educational growth is Education Society, Kadwai – an institution that has been a torchbearer for the entire region for almost six decades now.
The campus of Education Society Kadwai is situated at a location where the village Mohalla almost ends was land that was co-owned by many Kadwaikars – namely Late BawooBhiku Modak who donated 5 Gunthas, Jamatul Muslimeen Kadwai – Indonesia branch donated a large chunk of 25 Gunthas, Late Cdr. Ebrahim Husain Modak who donated 3.5 Gunthas and Yusuf Abu Modak and brothers who donated 1.5 Gunthas. As you enter the campus, you will see three buildings standing tall. However, what one may not realize is the pioneering spirit of some Kadwaikars who made such a stellar institution possible for the community at large.
A religion which made getting educated and gaining knowledge as one of its fundamental aspects, as the first word of the holy revealation pronounced ‘Iqrah’ – READ – commands, it was the stalwarts in the community who understood this command and went on to build an institution that Kadwai is proud of.
The beginning:
Even before India’s independence, Kadwai had a Urdu Primary school started by the local District Council – the Zilla Parishad Urdu PrathamikShaala that ensured that primary level education to Kadwaikars. In fact, the school dates back to 1911!
Literacy levels were low in the community. The state of Maharashtra was just formed in 1960, and it was more than a decade since India had become independent and was making strides towards progress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.
However, the society at that time was such that most of the young boys and girls who studied upto Standard Seven, at the ZP Primary school, believed that it was enough to be just literate. Especially for the girl students. “Naavlikhkavachukaailatey bass zaila”!
(Primary school in those years meant Std. 1st to 7th)
Only a few children were fortunate enough to graduate to the secondary level, and they were enrolled into the Marathi high school in Kadwai.
However, circumstances of the time that compelled our own community members to establish ESK deserve a retelling here.
At the annual function of the Marathi school where our children studied, there was a play that was staged in 1961. The play hurt the sentiments of our community members as it depicted historical characters of Aurangzeb and Shahjahan and portrayed Muslims as sinners who keep their wives under a veil, and pray as though they keep their heads to the grounds and bottoms rising to the sky!
This play was witnessed by a few people from our community – namely A. Rehman Yusuf Mahatea.k.a Bawa Mahate, A. Latif Mohammed Kazi and Nanasaheb Juvale.
After the staging of this play, our community Jamaat had a meeting where the staging of this play was discussed.
To stem this misinformation about our community and religion, the elders of the community decided that the only weapon would be education, and a step was taken to allow education upto Standard 8th within our village for our community children. Accordingly, Mr. Umer Sawant took charge as a teacher of the classes from 5th to 8th for English subject.
In the year 1961, Mr. Umer Sawant suggested that the economic condition of the school running upto Standard 8th is not very good and therefore a play should be staged which would earn some extra revenue and augment the efforts of the community members. Working on this suggestion, a play was written and prepared by Mr. Umer Sawant, titled ‘Rishwat’ – or Bribe. This play was staged at the farm of the Dave family behind the Al-Falah mosque and earned a profit of Rs. 4000/-. This profit was then subsequently used to pay teachers’ salaries and other expenses of the school classes till 8th Standard which had then started at the house of Mr. NaqvaVazuddin Modak (Isaq Master).
The first management committee of ESK (1962)
Mr. Dawood Shamsuddin Kazi – President
Mr. Abdulrehman M. Modak – Vice President
Mr. A. Gani Ebrahim Bhombal – Gen. Secretary
Mr. Esmail H. Modak – Joint Secretary
Mr. Kadir Mohamed Modak - Treasurer
Members:
Mr. Ilyas Nuruddin Modak
Mr. Rafique Mohamed Modak
Mr. Ishaq Ahmed Mulla
Mr. Yusuf Kaka Dave
Mr. Ebrahim Kaka Dave
The next year, 1962 – Education Society Kadwai was formed with the intention of having a High School in Kadwai for our community members and registered under the Bombay Trusts Act 1960.
The classes that were running upto 8th Standard then became a part of what was named as Maharashtra Urdu High School, Kadwai or MUHSK.
As mentioned earlier, Maharashtra was just carved out as an independent state out of the erstwhile Bombay Province comprising today’s Gujarat and Maharashtra. YashwantraoChavan, Maharashtra’s first chief minister and his government was instrumental in creating a feeling of fervor of a love for the newly-found state.
The name therefore for the school was apt for the times – Maharashtra Urdu High School.
The school classes then in the same year shifted to the house of Mr. Jainuddin Naqwa Kapdi of Baugh.
When the number of students increased the classes also happened in the attic of the house of Mr. Bhiku Zainuddin Modak, before finally shifting to the campus where the then primary school existed.
Getting necessary approvals for starting such a school was important. Efforts were made in that direction to by Mr. A. Gani Bhombal and Mr. Ishaaq Modak. Mr. D.S. Kazi and Mr. Abdul Rehman Modak.
For the first four years of its existence, MUHSK operated without any government grants to pay for the school’s expenses or teachers’ salaries. However, in the year 1966-67, the Maharashtra government sanctioned a grant-in aid to the school.
Meanwhile, the existing primary school building was inadequate to house the increasing number of students.
Therefore, the ZP Urdu Primary School was shifted to where it exists now, at the end of Ubhiwad, at a place, eerily called ‘Bhootni’.
The land for the place was donated by Jainuddin BawooJuwale & brothers and Siddiq Yusuf Juwale and brothers to the Jamaat for specific use of an English school then, however, on this land was built a new building with funds donated generously by Mr. Ibrahim Bhombal in later years.
Presidents of ESK:
Past to Present
1. Mr. D. S. Kazi (1962-1987)
2. Mr. Abdul Rehman Modak (1987 - 2003)
3. Mr. Nazir Bhombal (2003-2017)
4. Mr. Sadiq Kazi (2018- )
As for MUHSK, innovative methods were adopted to raise funds so that a new building could be constructed.
A Musical Night was organized in Mumbai in March 1963 graced by the then superstar thespian Dilip Kumar who gave an illuminating speech on the subject of education. Comedian Agha regaled the audience with his humour, and is remembered even now by our elderly citizens who were sitting in the audience.
Musical nights, for those who may not be aware, was an attraction of sorts for many then, and were equivalent to today’s musical concerts, where the audience was able to witness their favorite performers live.
A Qawwali night was arranged at SabooSiddik College in Mumbai in March 1967, by then Management committee and the Organising committee lead by Indian Navy Commander Mr. Ebrahim Husain Modak.
This Qawwali night was a competition between legendary Qawwals of that era – Yusuf Azad and AminaKhatoon. This event too was graced by film stars like Agha, Jairaj and Dileep Raj.
In February 1970, a grand variety entertainment program was also organized Rang Bhavan in Mumbai.
Finally, with generous donations of Rs. 35,000 at that time by the family of Mr. Amin Bawa Kazi and Company, Rs. 5000 each by Capt. Jaffer Bhombal & Capt. Ahmed Saheb Bhombal, smaller donations by community members, and funds raised through the entertainment programs, ESK had accumulated Rs. 1,00,000 required to build the new school building in 1971-72.
After much efforts from the then management committee members, the new school building that exists to this day was inaugurated in 1972.
Headmasters of MUHSK (1962 onwards)
Mr. I.S. Bankotkar 1961-66
Mr. A.I. Pathan 1966-67
Mr. F.A. Khan 1967-67
Mr. Y.A. Mahaskar 1967-69
Mr. A.R. Motlekar 1969-74
Mr. A.A. Parkar 1974-75
Mr. I.A. Mukadam 1975-82
Mr. M.M. Mulla 1982-95
Mr. D.B. Hawaldar 1995-95
Mr. ShamsulQamar 1995-2013
Mr. Rizwan Karigar 2013 – till date
Most of these eminent people who helped build the school are no longer with us, but their legacy survives and thrives today as the campus of ESK annually churns out even today more than 100 students out of its portals – ready for higher studies, ready for challenges that modern world brings.
The Maharashtra Urdu High School has had an impeccable record of 100% passing percentage for many years consecutively and has also earned the prestigious Kokan RatnaPuraskar for it’s efforts.
The Kalsekar Students Hostel:
Commercially, Maharashtra Urdu High School was and is a government-aided institution. What the aid means is that while the infrastructure of the school belongs to ESK and the community at large, the state government supports the school by paying the teachers their salaries from its own education budget. However, the nature of operations of such schools is that a mandatory number of students are required so that the state government assigns it teachers whose salaries it pays. This meant that beyond the Kadwai Mohalla, the school had to attract students from outside the village. Then came the question of boarding these students in the campus.
In the late 1960s, steps were taken to have a boarding hostel in the campus. Generous donations from the families of late Mr. Ibrahim Baba Kapdi and Mr. Mohammed Baba Kapdi enabled ESK to build a boarding hostel in the premises, on the same spot where the Kalsekar Junior college exists today.
Later, as the school became a magnet for students from far and wide and even this boarding hostel became insufficient to house them, it was decided by the then management committee members under the leadership of Mr. Abdul Rehman Modak and the then school headmaster Mr. ShamsulQamarHashmi, to build a new boarding hostel. Accordingly, Maulana Azad Education Foundation under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs sanctioned a donation for the same, coupled with the benevolent Kalsekar Charitable Trust and donations from community members ensured that a new boarding hostel building was constructed and made operational in the year 2003.
Today, after undergoing major renovation and repairs in the year 2018-19, the Kalsekar Students Hostel in the ESK campus has a capacity to accommodate more than 100 students in 24 rooms spread across three floors. The kitchen and dining hall has been revamped completely and includes modern, eco-friendly and hygienic equipment. With enough attention being paid to hygiene standards in the post-pandemic era, the toilets and bathrooms are designed to enhance the quality of life of the students too.
Launch of The Kadwai English School:
Moving on with the evolution of ESK, the next major step taken for the development of education in Kadwai was the launch of the Kadwai English School. Vernacular mediums – be it Marathi or Urdu or any regional language is academically not a preferred option that students opt for, because English is considered a globally accepted language – a language that opens the doors of opportunity and progress for many.
Therefore, even while Maharashtra Urdu School was thriving well academically with 100% passing percentage in the SSC Boards exams every year, parents within Kadwai were migrating to other cities so that their children could undergo schooling in the English medium, thus leading to a decline in number of students in MUHSK every year.
Moreover, the problem weighed on the minds of leading Jamaat members too that our students were not able to cope up with higher studies after their SSC board where the medium of instruction was English. And therefore, in 1982, at its own expense, the Jamaat started private English classes of Jr. KG and Sr. KG, so that students could get a basic introduction to English language in the early years. Teachers like Miss Nasima Khatib, Miss Fatima Khatib, Sherbanoo Juwale and Nadira Mulla taught these young children their first lessons in English alphabet since then.
Finally, the problem of English as a medium for all the classes was resolved with stellar efforts from Dr. Ansar Juvale, the then ESK Committee Member (and now Vice President).
After a Jamaat meeting resolved in 2002, and at a resolution passed by ESK at the residence of Dr. Nazir Juvale, an English Medium School was born in 2003 named as The Kadwai English School (TKES) under the aegis of ESK. Although, there was relentless opposition to the idea of an English Medium School from some community members and even the then management committee of ESK, with the support of some community members like – Ibrahim Yusuf Juwale, Irfan Walge, Afsar Khan, Munaf Bhombal, Tajuddin Modak, Irfan Mahmood Juwale & others, the English medium School commenced its operations in the same premises as the Zilla Parishad Urdu Primary School at Ubhiwad.
TKES was inaugurated by Dr. VinayNatu, the then BJP MLA of the area, and the occasion was graced by Mrs. SayeedaNaik, an eminent educationist.
The efforts of starting The Kadwai English School (TKES) were entirely spearheaded by Dr. Ansar and his team of well-wishers for many years, through funds raised internally by them without relying on ESK for any financial support. The Kalsekar Charitable Trust also supported the school through an annual grant for many years, as the school classes incrementally increased from the initial pre-primary sections to upto Class VII from 2003 to 2016.
The student strength also steadily increased over the years slowly, however, in commercial terms the school was still running into losses as the amount of fees collected from students was still insufficient to cover all the expenses and salaries.
It was then that Umalti Pruthvi Foundation that came into the picture in 2016 and through funds raised at Kadwai Dilon Ka Mela in 2016 decided to adopt TKES and upgrade its infrastructure and academic standards. It was after Umalti Pruthvi’s intervention that the school adopted technology on a big scale and e-learning introduced in the school, wide-spread campaigns were launched to increase the student strength and teacher quality improved through trainings and new recruitments.
As a result the student strength has grown thrice by 2020 compared to what it was in 2016 and TKES is now gaining a reputation as one of the best English Medium schools in the region.
Launch of the Kalsekar Junior College of Science:
While Kadwai was making progress as a self-sufficient village, ESK too was helping the community by keeping pace with the progress. After more than 50 years of commencement of MUHSK’s operations, it was time for the school to move to the next level. Thus came the initiative from the then CEO, Mr. ShamsulQamar and the then ESK President Mr. Nazir Bhombal, to launch the project of having a Junior College of Science in the campus.
Between 2011 to 2013, the Junior College Project went through approvals and fund-raising stages, the latter being benevolently and generously supported by the Kalsekar Charitable Trust and the rest by eminent Kadwaikars. And finally in 2014, the Junior College building was completed at the same location where the first MUHSK Building was which was later a boarding hostel, and commenced operations. Since a lion’s share in the funds for the college building had come from the Kalsekar Trust, the Junior College was named – Kalsekar Junior College of Science’.
Today, the Education Society Kadwai through all its institutions stands at a threshold of adding another chapter to its glorious history, with all the infrastructural improvements and academic progress.