Committed to cause: Principal gifts van to flagging school

The principal of George Venugopal Middle School in Mudaiyur, a village twenty kilometers from Chengalpet, gave his students a van he purchased with his own money.

Karunamurthy and students with the van he gifted his school | express

CHENNAI: As a teacher, how much would you give your students? Your time, your love, chocolates? All of the above? The principal of George Venugopal Middle School in Mudaiyur, a village twenty kilometers from Chengalpet, gave his students a van he purchased with his own money.

The Maruti Omni van picks up students from the nearby villages — Narapakkam, Kattur, Thathalur every morning and drops them home in the evening. Each village gets an exclusive trip and 41 students benefit from the newly introduced service.

Teachers in the school have followed the principal’s lead and pitch in for petrol costs. They have even taken driving classes to fill in for the driver in case he takes leave. However, Karunamurthy, the principal has taken the additional burden of paying the van driver himself.

When Karunamurthy became principal of the government-aided school in 2007, it had 780 students. Ten years later, there are barely 50 students. Students have left the 65-year-old Tamil medium school for other government/private English medium schools in their neighborhood.

“Students who study here now are from the poorest families in the village. Their parents can’t afford transport for their children,” said Karunamurthy. “If you bring a horse to water, it may not drink but if you bring a student to school, he will study.”

The van, the newest addition to the school, has become a matter of pride for students. Shyam, a student of Class VIII is the self-proclaimed cleaner who helps other students with their bags stowed on the roof.
“I don’t have to walk 6 kilometers every day,” declares the lean 12-year-old with curious eyes. Teachers of the school agree that the free transport service is just a temporary solution to keep the prestigious school afloat.

“We have to upgrade according to the times. English medium education has become the norm over the years. We want to begin teaching in English soon,” said Illango, a senior teacher.

This government-aided school, like many others in the State, has been stopped from upgrading to English medium. However, a petition filed by Pasupathy School in Pandanallur, Thanjavur district, which has been facing the same problem, was taken up by the Madras High Court on June 27. He has asked the government to respond to this and 19 other queries pertaining to the state of education in Tamil Nadu.
In the meantime, the teachers of this little school, tucked away in Mudaiyur, are breathing life into it by giving their students free rides.