A once crumbling govt school steals show on reopening day

Thiruvananthapuram: The state level inauguration of Pravesanolsavam which was hosted at the Kazhakootam Government Higher Secondary School on Wednesday is a glorious moment for the school. Barely five years ago, the school was in total shambles with an array of old brick tiled buildings with crumbling walls and a student population that kept dwindling.
However, this year, the school boasts of student strength of over 1,600 and even now admission queries are pending. “We have actually run out of space to accommodate students. We have merged classes and are providing additional infrastructure to cater to the needs of the students. This is a huge turnaround for the school which had less than 800 students five years ago,” said Bindu I, school principal.
The infrastructure works were carried out at a cost of Rs 5 crore with KIIFB funds. Besides, the school authorities joined hands with MLA Kadakampally Surendran to ensure CSR funds and there was also a campaign to raise money from the public .
This year 400 new admissions were recorded. A modern kitchen was set up in the school with CSR fund sponsored by businessman Yusuffali MA. “Lately many students who were studying in unaided schools joined our school. We have also made strides in ensuring more facilities and now we have four buses,” said Bindu I.
Classroom on wheels evokes mixed reactions:
Meanwhile, the abandoned KSRTC bus that has been converted into classrooms at the Manacaud LPS was the centre of attraction on the opening day of the new academic year. The kids were eagerly anticipating their turn to sit in the driver’s seat and have their picture taken. This year’s school reopening also saw a change in script. The usual scenes of children crying were missing. The joy of coming to school for the first time or seeing their school again could be seen on the face of each child. This year the school has got a total of 225 new admissions in class one and 136 admissions in LKG. While the buses have eaten up whatever little space the school campus had, the teachers look at the bright side. “We have made great progress in the case of new admissions. As the school was lacking space from the beginning, converting KSRTC buses to classrooms is a great relief,” said Vinitha N, headmistress.
However, many parents didn’t mince their words.
“The school has not had a playground since the beginning as the compound is very small. The idea of using an empty bus is pretty good, but it did create more space constraints here. We should remember one thing that the present prominent sports personalities had got enough opportunities to play in their childhood. So, we should not expect our children to be productive in sports since we are not providing any facilities to them. But the children are very happy to see the bus,” said Sivaraj, one of the parents.