Report by:Mir Arif

Kupwara:Shaheed Ghulam Nabi Army Goodwill School was established at T-Suntwari on
17 Oct 2000, and its academic session started wef 15 Mar 2001. Initially it catered for primary education from Nursery to 5th and subsequently the school was upgraded to 8th standard in the year 2004.

The school changed its name from ‘Army Primary School’ to ‘Shaheed Ghulam Nabi Army Goodwill School’, to pay tribute to Late Ghulam Nabi of Machhal Scouts who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting militants on 13 Aug 2000.

In 2016, the school was renamed as ‘Army Goodwill School Raghavan’ as gratitude towards Lt Col NV Raghavan,SC,SM for his gallant sacrifice on 24 Jun 1999 while fighting terrorists.

Presently the school is run under the aegis of Indian Army and the 1st Alumni Meet was conducted in AGS Raghavan on 18 April 21. The main aim of the event was to gather all the alumni and refresh old memories and also to motivate the students present to progress ahead in all walks of life.

A total of 49 alumni who passed out from the school after its inception in 2000 attended the meet. The guests comprised of professionals from all fields like Indian Army, Police, Govt Health Department, Teachers etc who had studied in AGS despite the region being a hub of terrorism in early 2000s.

The School Headmaster kick started the event by welcoming the alumni followed by flag hoisting to chorales of the National Anthem.

He expressed his best wishes to all students, alumni school and once again re-assured the unconditional support of the Indian Army to provide quality of education to the new generation.

A cultural programme was showcased by the students of AGS Raghavan which was filled with patriotic enthusiasm & liveliness. The jingoistic cultural program was packed with songs in Haryanvi, Hindi, Punjabi & Kashmiri. After the cultural programme, fun filled contests like Musical Chair & Spoon Race Competition were organised for the alumni.

All alumni participated in the games with great enthusiasm and zeal trying to showcase their clout with a competitive spirit.

This Alumni Meet was a deemed fit occasion to institute three trophies to be presented to outstanding achievers of the school. The Shaheed Ghulam Nabi Trophy for ‘Best in Academics’ was awarded to Ishrat Habib, while Shakib Munawar walked away with the Mohd Yusuf Trophy for ‘Best in Sports’. And for overall outstanding performance, Lt Col Raghavan SC, SM Trophy for ‘Overall Best Student’ was awarded to Bilal Ahmed Tantray.

Surprisingly all three belong to TSunt Payeen village. After the presentation ceremony, all the alumni were felicitated by a memento to remember their 1st Alumni Meet.

The programme ended with an interaction between Army and the alumni. They appreciated the idea of the Alumni Meet which creates a special bonding between the students who have passed out and who are still completing their studies in this institution. They shared their dreams and also motivated the AGS students, to achieve success in their lives.