CHERIYAKKARA (KASARAGOD): Savitha K and Pradeep Kumar, officials of the Department of Health, were very particular that their son Shyayari S Deep, 6, gets admission in Government Lower Primary School at Cheriyakkara -- 6 km from their house.
When the teachers say the school van would not be coming to their place, Muzhakkom, the parents say they would drop and pick their son from Kayyur, 3 km away. The van goes up to Kayyur. “We want our son to be in Cheriyakkara school,” the father told school teacher M Mahesh Kumar.
From the brink of closure three years ago, the school has seen a remarkable turnaround to be positioned as the ‘Happiest school in the state’. “Before we went out canvassing for our school, we wanted the school to be worthy of being desired by parents and children,” says Mahesh Kumar, who brought in the change. And here’s how he did it with the community, friends and like-minded teachers from across the state.
Mahesh joined the school in October 2018 and he with other teachers set themselves a 21-point agenda to improve the infrastructure and academic quality, with a 75-day deadline. “Of the 21 points, 10 were in the academic area,” he says. The school achieved 80% of the target by February.
Most of the parents and former students of the school are daily wage labourers. The women find job in Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Together they raised Rs 7.84 lakh to develop the infrastructure. The former students too pitched in Rs 2.34 lakh and helped buy a van to ferry the students, said old students’ convenor Balachandran, who runs a tea-shop.
With the money, the school built a beautiful park, filled the slope with earth and made a playground, bought furniture for children and teachers, painted the school. The school also has an arch, a driveway and a 200-seat open air auditorium --- all covered with leaves of passion fruit. “I love this new school and my park,” says Archana Chandran, who is in Class IV this year.
When she joined the school in 2016, she was the only student in Class I. Her photograph sitting in the classroom is an epitaph of the government-run school in Kayyur-Cheemeni grama panchayat. The school then had only 15 students.
This year, the school has 33 students and another 15 in pre-primary school, that started last year. In Class I, there are 16 new students this year. “If not for Archana and her parents, this would not have happened. They reposed faith in the school when there was none,” said Mahesh.
First day, many firsts
On the first day of the school on Thursday, the school released two songs of their short films to be made this year. The songs were penned by Indulekha R, a teacher of Government High School at Vithura in Thiruvananthapuram. Shivan Rajan and Ratheesh Roy, two techies in Abu Dhabi, scored the music.
C-DIT, the government agency, will direct the short films, and all the students and select parents would act in them. The short films will tell how we can reduce the volume of pollution. Vinod O, an engineer in Singapore, sent in Rs 20,000 as the budget for the short films. Mahesh Kumar is the link that connects all of them.
Truly free of cost education
The school also put forward the idea of providing truly free of cost education to the children. “We don’t intend to ask children for bus fee or annual day free. Free and compulsory education as the law says. But with the difference that the children truly enjoys the school here,” says Mahesh Kumar. Around 10 mothers were taught how to make soaps and umbrellas by Sarojini and Remya of the Block Resource Centre at Cheruvathur.
“We made 100 umbrellas and sold it for Rs 300 each, making a profit of Rs 100 per piece,” said Ajitha P, PTA president. The women donated the profit of Rs 10,000 to the school. They made another 50 umbrellas with images of characters from Marvel comics and gave them to the students on Day 1.
The school also raised around Rs 1.80 lakh from 21 benefactors under the umbrella called ‘Kaithang’ (Helping hand) to meet the miscellaneous expenses of the students, including bus fare.
App to track learning curve
Sitting in faraway Thodupuzha, Vidhu P Nair takes an active interest in Cheriyakkara school. He is the headmaster of NSS Lower Primary School, Kappu Thodupuzha. He has provided the government school with the technology to do away with examinations as seen in other schools and make education enjoyable.
At Cheriyakkara, the day starts with special classes for communicative English and ends with theatre camps. Students use computers to write exams and objective-type questions are designed in such a way to promote high order thinking.
Vidhu’s Android app, ‘Know Your Child,’ is installed on the phone of every parent. Children are assessed daily, and parents are updated on their progress. The app also helps track the location of the school van. On June 10, the school will launch its website integrating the app. “We are going to make Cheriyakkara school an international one. Mark my word,” he says.
This school should give children as much joy as going for shopping or a fair, says Mahesh. The number of children who made the school their playground during vacation will say their school is already the best.