SHIVAMOGGA: The 89-year-old Government Model Higher Primary School in KR Puram, Shivamogga, has seen better times. In 2017, with just seven students taking lessons within its hallowed walls, the school was on the verge of closure. However, thanks to the collective effort of teachers, locals, block education officers and elected representatives, the school has now got a new lease of life.
Sharing details about the school’s revival with The New Sunday Express, assistant teacher B Ramachari informs that when he was deputed there in 2018, there were only seven students. “It looked like a rundown warehouse, and also resembled a den of illegal activities, where anti-social elements indulged in drug abuse and gambling,” he mentions.
“It was important that the school’s glory days be restored. I personally took up the challenge to save the school, which was established during the British Raj. I sought help from some locals and started a movement called ‘Save Government School’, for which I got pamphlets printed and distributed them among people, convincing the latter to send their children to government schools. It was difficult at first, with many of them being unenthused. More than a thousand homes were contacted. With no funds to develop the school, the movement marched on. I did not give up. During this phase, the then corporator Sunita Annappa also joined our movement and helped us get funds for the rejuvenation work,” Ramachari says.
Accordingly, the School Development and Monitoring Committee members too propagated the ‘Save Government School’ movement by conducting door-to-door visits to educate people about admitting their children in government schools. Ramachari further says that initially, parents were hesitant to send their children to a government school, citing lack of basic amenities, like learning instruments, sturdy infrastructure, pure drinking water, toilets, a playground, compound, efficient teachers and an English medium.
In 2018, local politicians, apart from the corporator, including then MLA KS Eshwarappa, and others, brought in more funds to develop the school, making it a Karnataka Public School. All these efforts bore fruit, and the almost nine-decade-old institution emerged into a hi-tech government school, consisting of smart classrooms, CCTV surveillance, a digital library, and other modern features. Today, 275 students are enrolled in the school, from LKG to Class 7, taught by 11 teachers. In 2023, the school was also selected for the Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI Yojana).
Ramachari says the number of admissions has risen over time due to the assurance of quality education and improved amenities. The aim is to reach 500 student admissions in 2025-26, he adds.
On the school’s inception, Headmistress C Daneshwari says it was constructed in 1935. “Ten years ago, the school had a strength of 700 students. But lack of amenities and quality education led to a fall in numbers. The children of autorickshaw drivers, daily-wage workers and others come to the school. Today, the school imparts English instruction from Classes 1 to 6, and this will also be introduced for Class 7 from next year,” she states, adding that the children are also trained in yoga and karate, and a nourishing diet involving millets for their midday meal.