Cherishing the gift of public education

It is not the first time that the Government Higher Secondary School, Vennala, is treading the offbeat track.

Teachers, PTA representatives, and alumni of the institution visited houses of students, who won awards in various art competitions, in its decorated school bus with gifts during the weekend. “The initiative titled ‘Sammanavandi’ [a vehicle loaded with gifts] was also aimed at creating awareness among people about the recent additions to the school’s infrastructure and the slew of measures that have been taken to promote inclusive education, including for differently abled students. We wanted to drive home the point that the school has sound infrastructure and a team of qualified and committed teachers,” said Jolly Sebastian, Headmistress of the school’s upper primary and high school sections, which alone have 490 students. “Over the years, many parents in the vicinity preferred to seek admission for their kids in unaided schools located far away, since they were not aware of the development projects taking place in our school. The mad rush to seek admission in unaided English medium schools, which charge hefty fees, has been occurring despite the fact that our school has a full-fledged English medium section. In this circumstance, we decided to embark on the outreach programme. Drivers of the autorickshaw stand in front of the school pooled in with banners listing the school’s unique achievements, that were fixed at the front and rear of the school bus. There was good response from parents and students to the campaign,” she said.