With admissions for the academic year 2021-22 under way in schools, some government schools in Coimbatore district have come up with innovative ways to advertise the facilities available in their institutions in an effort to boost enrolment.
Teachers from the Government Higher Secondary School at Vadachithur, near Kinathukadavu, prepared an audio message that runs for nearly five minutes to circulate on social media platforms such as WhatsApp. The audio message describes the facilities available such as English and Tamil medium classes, ‘smart class’ for classes 6 and above, computer laboratory, library and clean restrooms. “Government schools are not the symbol of poverty; it is the symbol of our pride,” proclaims the audio message.
“Many are still under the impression that only private schools have the facilities [for the students]. Hence, we wanted to communicate all the facilities available in our school to the public,” said B. Senthilkumar, a Commerce teacher from the school who was involved in making the audio message. As per the directions of the school’s headmistress S. Bhuvaneshwari, the teachers also plan to hire an auto rickshaw and play this audio message via speakers to the residents of the nearly 20 villages surrounding the school, he said.
With around 750 students already studying in the school, Mr. Senthilkumar expressed hope that the number of new admissions in his school would increase this year, as many parents are choosing government schools over private schools following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, the Government Higher Secondary School at Othakkalmandapam has unveiled a ‘digital pamphlet’ for Class 11 admissions. Apart from listing the facilities available , the brochure comes with a QR code that takes the applicant to the school’s own website (www.ghssokm.in), where a digital application form is available.
The school’s headmaster G. Ramesh said that copies of this digital pamphlet have been circulated among the school’s alumni via WhatsApp to reach potential applicants. “So far, we have completed 224 admissions for Plus One,” he said. Apart from the website, the school also has its own YouTube channel, where videos of its alumni talking about their experiences in the school have been uploaded, Mr. Ramesh noted. Established in 1968, the Government Higher Secondary School, Othakkalmandapam, now has a student strength of 1,030.
Coimbatore Chief Educational Officer M. Ramakrishnan said these government schools and other schools that take up similar initiatives have been doing it out of their own interest and have been utilising the digital platforms well to reach out to parents and students for admissions.