Berhampur: While many people strive to get their wards admitted to English medium and private convent schools, here is an exception where the residents have pulled out their kids from private English medium schools and got them admitted to a government upper primary (UP) school at Hilpatna.
About 68 students of 15 schools have left posh private schools and switched over to the UP school.
When Orissa POST visited Hilpatna Government Upper Primary School, the locals cheered the initiative taken by this local government school and pointed out how the progress of the school inspired parents to shift their children from private schools to Hilpatna Govt UP School.
Set up in 1835, the school was in an abandoned condition. But, the administration decided to upgrade infrastructure and build a stronger education system here under ‘Mo School Yojana’.
The school which did not have an entry gate till 2010 now is considered the best school in Ganjam district, thanks to the efforts of its dedicated teachers.
According to headmaster Radhaballav Patnaik, it is the environment of the school that attracts students.
“Keeping this concept in mind, we decided to develop the school’s environment first. The teachers here work in a competitive spirit as everyone wants to come up with progressive ideas to make constructive changes,” Patnaik said.
The school staff first cleaned the campus. They tried to teach the students not through textbooks alone, but by their dedication, he said, adding, “We painted the walls and mowed the lawns. The paintings have information about general knowledge, inspirational stories and maps of India and the world.”
The teachers and students planted fruits, flowers and medicinal plants in the lawns. The money came through ‘Mo School Yojana’, and it was used for the school’s makeover.
The school authorities introduced various programmes to increase attendance of the children.
The school arranged tables and chairs for all students. Employees were appointed to clean the campus daily. Free singing, drawing, stitching and dancing classes are arranged for the students to improve extracurricular activities.
The students were given the facility of ‘smart classroom’ where they can study through projectors.
“The school has dedicated staff to use funds for improving the building. We got the gate built, relaid the playground and improved the look of the building. This attracted parents and students,” asserted Patnaik.
In order to raise enrollment in 2017-2018, a special drive was launched, said a teacher. The students and parents were informed about the facilities of the school through leaflets.
Later, the parents started showing interest in the school. The enrollment of students went up by 2019-20 and 68 more students joined in the school.
PNN
