Zehra Free High School was established in the year 1992 in the fond and loving memory of Mrs. Zehra Begum w/o Late Aliuddin Ansair, Advocate; and the mother of Late r. Mahmood Ansari, Founder and Editor of the most popular Urdu Daily of Hyderabad. An educational society in the similar name and style - Zehra Educational Society was established in the year 1993 with the sole aim of imparting education to the poorer sections of the society. With this aim Zehra Educational Trust was formed which was headed by Late Mr. Mahmood Ansari as the Managing trustee, and Mr. S. Jawad Ul Hasan, Mr. S. Hasham Ul Hasan and Mr. Shakeel Ansari as its trustees.
Zehra Educational Trust is running a model educational institution in a slum area of Moinbagh, of the old city of Hyderabad. Zehra Free High School is situated in the palacial building comprising an area of 7000 sq. yards, which was acquired by the trust for its multifarious activities for the uplifting of the downtrodden.
Zehra Free High School is surrounded by a huge slum area which was lacking in basic amenities. There are no govt. schools, health or community centers or post office. Play ground, park or clean open space is a dream of the people of this area, which most probably will never be fulfilled. The residents of this area are a neglected lot - both by the government and the politicians; and the people are left to their own fate. Most of the residents are suffering from the curse of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy, and making both ends meet for them is a Herculean task. Therefore, this section of the society just cannot pay attention to giving education to their children; which adds to the high illiteracy rate in this part of the city. Decrease in literacy rate among children, street children and child labor is rampant who normally spend their childhood in the streets, hotels, workshops, etc.
Zehra Educational Trust embarked upon the task of spreading literacy among the urban poor by opening Zehra Free High School. Establishment of an ITI and a Junior College in this area is also planned. A Montessori school will be started in the coming academic year starting June 2006. The Zehra School, a co-educational institution, is imparting education up to SSC level in both English and Urdu media. Due to the active and direct involvement, in the administrative matters, of Managing Trustee Mr. Jawad Ul Hasan, and to encourage students and parents, a number of incentives are offered by the way of prizes, gifts, awards, etc. These incentives have boosted the morale of the students and provided a major attraction for education. A nominal fee is charged from the students - lowest by any standard.
Continuous efforts are made by the Trust to infuse into the teachers a sense of responsibility of making students an asset to the society. Re-orientation programs and cash incentives for the teachers are a regular feature in the school. All amenities are provided to the students; besides playing equipment, the school has a well equipped computer lab, a science lab and a library. The school also has a water cooler, a refrigerator, a generator, etc for the convenience of the students.
The Trust is leaving no stone unturned to give the best of education to the students and bring out their latent talent and make them successful in their future endeavors. Regular special class are held for slow learners - the results of which are highly encouraging.
All the efforts of the trustees and the teachers has started bearing fruits in the form of increased rate of literacy in the area, with an appreciative rate of pass percentage in the SSC public examinations.
Besides following the prescribed govt. syllabus, the school imparts Islamic education to the students. It is to be noted that, though a nominal fee is charged, about 25% of the deserving students are provided free education.
