Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have sounded critical of China on his just concluded Japan visit but the technology from the Dragon's country came handy for a principal here on the Teacher's Day!
Rajesh Kumar is principal of the Rajkiya Krit Prathmik School of Gandhi Nagar and pressed into service his China-made mobile handset when all the efforts to bring Modi live before the children failed to deliver. Though, only 25-30 children were present to attend the 'special class' on the occasion out of about 100 enrolled.
"We have no TV set. Though it was told to arrange but we don't have power either. Firstly, we arranged this radio which was in the school and filled battery on our own. But now it is also not able to catch the signal clearly. Then I am using my mobile phone and trying to catch the Prime Minister's speech for the children," said the principal, flanked by two other teachers who were instructing the children to remain quiet so that the Prime Minister's speech could be heard.
The task to make the arrangements proved more difficult for school managements due to Karma festival which brings a holiday in Jharkhand. "We have got a directive from the department for opening the school in the afternoon session. It was very tough to convince the children to come to the school also because there was no mid-day meal provision for today," said Madhubala, the principal of Government Middle School, Hatma.
Here also no arrangement for TV could be made despite best efforts. "Nowadays no one gives TV on rent and we decided to rely on radio," added the principal. Apart from the medium used for streaming the speech live across the schools, making the children aware about the first-ever initiative of this kind was not a child's play either.
Shahil Kumar of Class V says some "programme" would take place in the school while Premika of VII Standard knows Modi is a "teacher". While for Soni Kumari of Gandhi Nagar School the PM becomes a CM! "We have specially informed them about the programme already and told them about the Prime Minister a day before," defended principal Rajesh Kumar.
Rajesh's counterpart at Gyanodaya Middle-High School of Gandhi Nagar Deeptendu Pandey had declared a leave on Karma. "The holiday on Karma was announced much before and the notice about opening the school on Friday came." There are about 800 children from Class I to X enrolled in the school which also gets aid from the Jharkhand Government.
The scene was no different at the Government Primary School (Urdu) at Chandwe. A clutch of children converged in a hot and humid classroom without a fan which is also doubling as a storehouse. "We have just two rooms and not an inch of land outside this structure. The utensils, oven and cooking materials have to be kept here only," said Anish Ansari, the principal, who mentioned that the arrangements for the 'made in China' radio and battery have been made from his own pocket as the school's radio was out of order.
The primary school has most of the children from the minority community and little Mozahid draws correctly from the Prime Minister's message. "Unhone kaha ki khub kitaben padho (He said, read a lot of books)", with a great round of applause from his proud teachers.