Rural govt school gets a makeover, thanks to state fund, patrons

Coimbatore: Colourful interiors, granite floors, a vegetable garden and a composting unit sets the government higher secondary school at Ashokapuramselected by the state government as a model school last yearapart from other state-run schools.
The school caters to 1,420 students from Class VI to XII in both English and Tamil medium. “Rs 1crore was allotted to improve the infrastructure. School authorities have started to renovate classrooms and are buying equipment for laboratories and smart classes. A mini science lab and an Atal Tinkering Lab will be set up soon,” an official with the school education department said.

Children from Idikarrai, Athipalayam and Narasimanaickenpalayam are studying in the school, the only government higher secondary school in 10km radius.

A Kindergarten section will be started from the next academic year, headmistress S Rajalakshmi said. “Over 20 students have shown interest to enrol. A primary section will be gradually added,” she told TOI.

To involve the students in eco-friendly activities, a barren land was converted into a vegetable garden last August. “Class IX students are maintaining it. They successfully cultivated tomatoes and pumpkins. New crops, that can survive the summer season will be planted next,” Rajalakshmi said.

Vegetables from the garden are used at the school’s noon meal centre. Wet waste collected from the campus is converted into compost and used as manure for the crops.

The school authorities are working closely with private companies to bring about a change. “Accepting the challenge posed by our patron Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), our students harvested 10kg vegetables in 20 days. CTS, an American multinational corporation that provides IT services, has been taking care of the higher education expenses of all the students, who secured above 960 marks from the school since 2013. They have educated over 140 students so far, of which four have joined the firm.”

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a leading construction company, has come forward to provide over 25 computers and set up smart classes in the school. The firm will also construct toilets and urinals.

The school has always been good both in terms of education and infrastructure, said M Pradeep Raj, a Class IX student. “But things have improved a lot in the last one year.”