ERODE: If going the extra mile is the hallmark of dedication, then, these two educationists personify the best of the dictum. The Panchayat Union Primary School at Vellode Kuttapalayam in Chennimalai block has students coming from nearby villages, including Olapalayam and Karukankattuvalasu, located in the six kilometre radius of the school.
Unfavourable conditions like lack of public transport, narrow walkway taken over by weeds and bushes, personal and financial issues have always discouraged parents from sending their children to schools. A couple of years ago, student strength of the school saw a sudden drop from 35 to 13, a trend which forced faculty to initiate door-to-door campaigns in villages to increase the enrolment.
It was during one such such campaign that D Ramasamy, an assistant teacher of the school realised that lack of public transport was one of the main reasons for the dropouts.
Going beyond his call of duty, Ramasamy purchased a van to provide transport facility to students between the school and their houses at free of cost. Since then (2017), the teacher has been religiously shuttling students everyday.
Presently, the school has a strength of 25 students, out of which 19 of them avail of the facility. In Ramasamy's absence, headmistress of the school P Thilagavathi chips in by shuttling the students in her car.
"Parents of the students are daily wage labourers who are away for work much of the time. They cannot drop or pick up children everyday. Also, private transportation is a costly affair for them," Thilagavathi said.
Latha, one of the parents, expressed her gratitude to the novel initiative, saying that she was happy that her child is receiving education. "Both the teachers are like a family away from home to the students. Apart from providing free transportation, they take care of the children so well," she said.
Under the guidance of both the faculty, various developmental activities have been taken up in the school premises.