KOCHI: Hundred-years-old and still going strong, St Joseph’s UP School in Kadavanthra, is leading by example. The school, which was in danger of shut down after being termed uneconomical following a drop in the number of students, has weathered the storm gracefully. In fact, thanks to a number of initiatives, the institution has grown in strength, boasting of 110 students, compared to previous years when it hardly had 82 children in attendance.
“Of the 110, around 70 students belong to the migrant labour community. These kids have been enrolled under the Roshini project of the District Administration,” said Ralphy N T, school headmaster. The school was declared a centre of excellence by Education Minister C Raveendranath on Monday, considering its two rare accomplishments.
One was its efforts to teach its students how to type matter in Malayalam. “Can you imagine learning to type in Malayalam without a screen to see what you write? That’s how the students here learnt to type in Malayalam. It is a tough task which cannot be accomplished by all, a reason why DTP centres charge more to type documents in Malayalam,” said the headmaster.
“It is interesting to note that all the students who belong to migrant families have learnt to do DTP work in Malayalam,” he said. It is also the only school in the state to have opened a bank account for every student. “The idea was to teach them the importance of saving money and deal with banking procedures,” said Ralphy.
He said there are many other projects in the pipeline. The next step is to train the children in some vocation.“We are planning to teach the students to make chalk, candle and soap among others. The money we make after selling the products will be deposited in the children’s bank accounts,” he said.
According to Manimala, a parent of a Class V student who hails from West Bengal, the school has been a blessing for the children of migrant families.“My daughter has been studying in the school from Class I. However, since the school has only classes till Class VII, we will have to seek admission in schools at far-off places,” she said.