KASARAGOD: Two schools in Kasaragod district have come together to build a house for two sibling students after their house was destroyed two monsoons ago.
Trikaripur MLA M Rajagopal handed over the key of the house to Sujith M (14) and his sister Nivediya M (12) at Podavoor in Kayyur-Cheemeni panchayat on Saturday.
The siblings were rendered homeless when a coconut tree fell on their dilapidated house in July 2018.
Sujith is a student of Kelappaji Memorial Vocational Higher Secondary School (KMVHSS) in Kodakkad while Nivediya is a student of Aided Upper Primary School, Podavoor.
Their mother Geeta (42) sought the help of Kayyur-Cheemeni gram panchayat for assistance to build a house, but petitions were turned down over technicalities.
During the routine house visit of houses ahead of Onam last year, Nivediya's school headmaster K M Anil Kumar was taken aback seeing the condition of her house.
He decided that if the panchayat could not help, the school community should step up and the staff agreed to pool in their resources and build a house.
Anil Kumar said the children's mother Geeta was also a student of AUPS, Podavoor. She had saved Rs 1.25 lakh.
Satheesh, a former student of the Podavoor school and who is now in Australia, helped raise another Rs 1 lakh. "We started the work in September last year and completed the house in 10 months," he said.
The two schools said the house was built at a cost of Rs 6 lakh. It has a carpet area of 490 sq ft, with two bedrooms, a hall, kitchen, bathroom, and a work area.
While the construction was on, minister for education C Raveendranath put out a video on Facebook appreciating the two schools.
"They are not just building a house. They are showing solidarity with their classmates. It is an expression of love.
"We expect public education to bring in such change in children. Beyond 'I', we expect public education to inculcate the feeling of 'us' in children," he had said.
The function on Saturday was attended by panchayat president Shakunthala and KMVHSS headteacher K A Vimala Kumari.