UTTARAKHAND : Picture this: Colour - coordinated walls & ceilings, neat washrooms and smart TV sets equipped with web cameras - welcome to the government primary school in Kashipur block of Udham Singh Nagar.
The school is a part of Roopantaran - an initiative to transform government schools, which has changed the face of at least 160 schools in the hill state with the number of enrolled students going up 3-4 folds. "I run a small kirana shop and would have never been able to afford my son’s education in a private school," says Ramesh Chandra Bisht, a resident of Patali area of Almora district.
His 11-year-old son is a student at the local government school. "This school is better than private ones. My son takes keen interest in studies and school activities. He doesn’t want to miss a day," he adds.
Students with neat uniforms in bright red, yellow, green and navy blue have ignited a new hope of quality education. "It began from Ranikhet of Almora district in 2015 as an individual effort, which now expanded to all 13 districts," says Geetika Joshi, deputy education officer of Kashipur.
The state government has selected three schools in every district and allocated funds for their transformation. These schools are free to take donations, grants and financial help from officials, MPs, MLAs through various funds meant for the educational development and other welfare works.
A selected school is identified for the requisite needs on a quality scale. Renovation then follows. It involves furniture, clean toilets, filtered water, hygienic eating space along with a kitchen, high-speed internet, smart TVs with webcams, CCTVs, audiovisual rooms-cum-library with projectors, library, recreational space, music & yoga training and space for garden and a small pool with clean water.
The transformed schools have attracted hordes of parents and guardians. "Before this transformation, we had 27 children, but now the number has swelled to 67. We are aiming at 100," says Yudhvir Singh, principal of Rampura Nijhad primary school.
Geetika Joshi, who was posted in Ranikhet in 2015, recalls how a dilapidated primary school was transformed. "When I saw the school, its condition saddened me. I decided to take it up as a task and asked my family and friends to pool in money. We transformed the school completely," she said.
Soon, senior officials took note. Joshi was a government teacher before clearing Uttarakhand State Provincial Services exams. After Joshi transformed the school, the scheme was proposed to the chief minister who approved its implementation across the state.
Apart from Joshi, the officials who help her in the initiative include Himanshu Khurana, an IAS officer who was posted as sub-divisional magistrate in 2016, MLA of Ranikhet Karan Singh Mahra who allocated Rs 24 lakh, the then district magistrate Eva Ashish Srivastav who was the first one to donate Rs 20,000 from her salary and Nitin Singh Bhadauria, IAS who later became the DM of Almora district.
"We have reached out to 150 schools in Almora. The district has an advantage since the initiative began there. We have a commitment that each child must get quality education," says Bhadauria.