School principals of the Hyderabad Province gathered for a day-long Principals’ Meeting held on 20 July, at Don Bosco Premnivas, Mangalagiri, focusing on strengthening the spiritual, and academic dimensions of Salesian education.
Fr Chinnappa SDB, the newly appointed in-charge of the School Sector, welcomed the gathering. In his opening remarks, Fr Provincial reminded principals that Don Bosco schools exist not only to deliver knowledge but to form responsible citizens and God-fearing individuals, especially in an era marked by emotional fragility and hopelessness among youth. He urged principals to personally meet every Class IX and X student at least thrice a year to build rapport and provide support.
Among the key proposals were:
- Initiating Scouts and Guides in every school.
- Choosing and implementing one environmental concern per school.
- Ensuring all schools become members of the Don Bosco Green Alliance.
- Encouraging the formation of past pupils’ units and active alumni engagement.
The School Education and Evangelisation Plan (SEPP) 2025–2028 was reviewed, with suggestions to integrate province priorities into different SEPP dimensions and remove redundant content. Fr Maddhichetty Noel joined online to propose three initiatives through BIRDY:
- A two-day seminar for Class IX students on Don Bosco’s mission, leadership, and ecology;
- Training of school staff in the Lay Mission Partners model;
- Launch of a charity initiative titled “Education to Social Giving.”
The principals shared updates on their respective schools, and concerns raised included a lack of communication skills among teachers, slow learners, discipline issues, drug abuse, and infrastructure gaps.
In response, the group decided to abolish the post of Province School Coordinator. Each principal will now form a local team to conduct internal inspections using a formal questionnaire before October 2025. An external inspection team, led by the Vice Provincial and experts, will follow up by January 2026.
Other decisions included:
- The Don Bosco Schools Athletics Meet will be held on 22 November at Guntupalli;
- The Principals’ Training Programme is scheduled for 27–28 April 2026;
- Region-wise teacher training in May 2026 will cover Don Bosco pedagogy, counselling, drug addiction, and digital education.
- Principals were advised to finalise book orders by November 2025, with pricing adjusted for urban and rural schools;
- A directive was issued to avoid printing “Don Bosco School” titles on notebooks by the distributor.
Principals were also encouraged to register for the National Educational Conference of Don Bosco Schools, to be held in Shillong from 2–5 November 2025.
The meeting concluded with words of gratitude to Fr G. Peter, outgoing School Sector head, and a warm welcome to Fr G. Chinnappa, who officially takes over the role. The day ended with a prayer at 5:15 pm, wrapping up a productive session focused on the Salesian mission of educating with heart, faith, and vision.
