School where Mahatma Gandhi studied shuts down

Alfred High School, a premium institute of Rajkot where Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi studied, has been closed down and all 150 students here have been given away their leaving certificates.

It was a terse notification from the Gujarat Government in 2016 that a museum on Mahatma Gandhi worth Rs. 12 crore was to be created at Alfred High School or Mohandas Gandhi High School and that the students will be shifted to Karansinhji High School.

There was adequate space at the Alfred High School to carve out a museum and also run the school.

The students and teachers were handed down leaving certificates and asked to fend for themselves.

According to reports, the arrangements were being made to move the entire staff and students elsewhere by the end of this month.

The school was constructed during the British rule by Kernel Singh and was the first English school in the region.

Originally called Rajkot English School, it was founded on October 17, 1853 and later became a full-fledged high school.

By 1868, it was known as Rajkot High School and was named Alfred High School in 1907.

Following India's independence in 1947, the school was renamed "Mohandas Gandhi High School" in the honour of Mahatma Gandhi.

At age of 18, Mahatma Gandhi had graduated from this school in 1887.