ALAPPUZHA: With school examinations round the corner, it has been sleepless nights for parents. Many try to fight the tension and apprehension by offering their children gifts in lieu of good grades. Now, the Kudumbashree units of ward 12 of Muhamma panchayat has got in on the act and suggested a special offer for children appearing for SSLC examination from the ward. They are offering a plane ride to students who bag ‘A+’ in all subjects.
According to Latheesh Chandran, ward member, the various units of the women’s collective have decided to arrange the plane trip, from Nedumbassery to Thiruvananthapuram, for students finishing in the top rung.
“We have started work on mobilising funds for the journey. Nearly 28 students from the ward are appearing for SSLC examinations this year. A meeting of the area development society of the Kudumbashree, held last month, decided to forward an offer to arrange the trip, which is expected to cost around Rs 2,500 a head — including the plane journey and the bus journey from Muhamma to the airport and back. For the 21 Kudumbashree units of the ward and their nearly 300 members, newspaper sold as scrap is the main source of income. The majority of members will contribute around 2kg of newspaper each, which will raise around Rs 15,000 a month. The income from three months of effort will be utilised for the project. Moreover, scrap material collected from houses and sold to dealers will generate additional income,” Latheesh said.
Airlines offer subsidised group tours in the off-season. So we plan to book the trip in May after the examination results are announced. Seats will also be booked for the road leg of the trip. Around 11 ADS members of Kudumbashree will travel with the children.
Kudumbashree also arranged an exam motivation class for the students from various schools in and around the panchayat on Sunday.