PUDUKKOTTAI: As part of her efforts to increase enrolment and ease access for children from remote villages, the headmistress of a panchayat union primary school at Chidambara Viduthi North near Kothamangalam has purchased a van, worth Rs 9 lakh, from her personal funds, for the use of students.
The initiative by T Chandra (56), who has been serving as headmistress since 2016, was complemented on Tuesday by village residents, parents and the school management committee, who together contributed “kalvi seer” (educational materials) worth about Rs 7 lakh.
The materials were brought to the school in a procession with traditional drums and formally handed over in the presence of Backward Classes Welfare Minister C V Meyyanathan. The school has 110 students studying from Classes I to V, up from fewer than 90 when Chandra took charge.
According to Chief Education Officer K Shanmugam, the school and teachers have secured over 15 awards from the state government and private forums. Though there are six elementary schools and two higher secondary schools in and around Kothamangalam Panchayat with some Private Schools, parents from areas such as Paluvanagar, the Adidravidar Colony and Meenagkollai located over two km away and inaccessible by buses due to narrow roads have opted for this school citing teaching quality and learning outcomes. Around 45 students from these localities are expected to benefit directly from the new vehicle.
“The children were eager to study here, but the travel was a struggle for parents who had to drop them on two-wheelers,” Chandra said, adding that teachers had decided to collectively bear the driver’s salary “We will not collect even one rupee from the parents, “ Chandra asserted.
Akila, a parent, said her daughter could now read newspapers, while Rasaiya, a grandfather of four students from the Adidravidar Colony, said the transport facility was as a major relief. On Tuesday, the students made an appeal to Minister Meyyanathan to build a stage (kalaiarangam) for the school. The minister announced an immediate sanction of Rs 5 lakh for its construction.
This news is reported by Pearson Lenekar SR of The New Indian Express.