Telangana Express to cut dropout rate, woo village students to enrol in school
In a novel bid to bring down dropout rate and attract new students, a Government school in Telangana has been remodeled like a train and a railway platform. It has been aptly named as “Telangana Express”.
The school in Veernpally village of Sricilla Rajanna district with its unique look has become a big hit with the Government primary school students as well as their parents. The school, which falls in the constituency of State’s Industries Minister K Taraka Rama Rao, was remodeled under the corporate social responsibility programme with contribution from various companies.
Naroju Chandu, who designed and painted the school, said while the teachers’ room has been painted as engine, three classrooms are designed as train coaches from outside. The children who enjoy the school hours as train journey look outside from the windows and wave at the people. “Even their play time is also related to the train as they run in a line like the engine and bogey singing a Telugu song “Chhuk Chhuk Railu Vastundi”.
Students are thrilled to the core by their new surroundings. “I don’t feel like bunking”, said Arun, a third standard student. “I come regularly as my school feels like a railway station and I feel like I am travelling in a train”.
“I painted the school by keeping a photo of a train before me”, Chandu said. The verandah of the school looks like the platform of a railway station. While the Veernapally village schools stand out because of its design, the painter has also painted the buildings of 19 schools and anganwadis or play schools in different villages of Sricilla.
Even the school headmaster B Gajan is happy and satisfied as the colourful environment of the school has improved attendance and the students are now more interested in studies and classrooms. “It is a different world altogether. I am thankful to the Minister for his interest in our school. I wish every Government school becomes like this,” he said.
Sricilla is famous as weavers town for its handloom and powerloom units and was among the under developed pockets of Telangana till a few years ago. It was often in the news for the tragedies like the suicide by debt-ridden farmers.
The Veernapally school has emerged as an interesting role model at a time when the State Government is pumping money into development of schools infrastructure and standard of education.
On Sunday, KTR tweeted photos of a new and posh residential school at Nerella village in Sricilla. He noted that more than 700 such residential schools have come up in the entire State and the State Government is spending Rs 1,20,000 per child per annum in those schools.
“Guess what this isij” he asked while posting the photos of a big and newly built school campus with all the modern facilities.