Teachers transform Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad school

Every class room has projectors and LED TVs in the Zilla Parishad school

With little aid coming from the government, seven teachers from a Zilla Parishad school in a village in Gadchiroli, have taken it upon themselves, to provide their students the best facilities in education. They have been contributing from their pockets for the co-ed school in Pardi Kupi village, which has 170 students and is from Std I to VII.

Arun Dudhabaware is one of the teachers bringing the change. Speaking to mid-day, he said, "Earlier the Zilla Parishad would grant Rs 40,000 annually for stationery, now this is down to Rs 15,000. It is not sufficient and so we teachers decided to contribute."

Students use the wash basins that teachers constructed for them

Teacher's contributions

The school that exists since 1947, earlier had approximately 350 students, but in the past couple of years, the number has gone down, as new schools have come up.

"Teachers are provided District Institute of Educational Training (DIET) where we learn the concept of digitisation and how to make teaching scientific and easy for students. But no fund was provided for this, so we contribute to make it a reality," said Arun.

Kalpana Bhong, another teacher said, "Our families are happy that we are helping the students, instead of waiting for the state machinery to do everything." The teachers draw a monthly salary between R40,000 and Rs 50,000. "We started to transform the school one- and-half-years back. We provided projectors and LED TVs to each class room (12 blocks), for which every teacher contributed over Rs 5,000," Arun added.

The school is not run like 'other ZP schools;' as head master Damaji Bhoyar points out. He said, "We have brought in uniformity and discipline in the school. We also have a dress code for the teachers. Students have a uniform with a tie, which is not so in other ZP schools." The teachers have constructed separate toilets for females and males.

The teachers, who have so far provided projectors and LED TVs, a public address system, and toilets besides many other facilities for their students. Pics/Suresh Karkera

Villagers also help

Arun spent Rs 5,000 to buy equipment like test tubes, beakers, magnets etc for a laboratory. The teachers have contributed Rs 19,000 for a printer, a public address system worth Rs 27,000 connected to each class room, and about eight computers, for which villagers gave Rs 85,000.

The school also provides the students practicals on farming - they have already cultivated fruits and vegetables, which they themselves sell in the nearby villager market. The money collected out of the sale is used for their welfare. They are also taught vermiculture.

Interestingly, teachers have also installed a complaints and suggestions box, so students learn to take up issues. "A student recently complained about his father's addiction. We showed a video on how addiction can harm the human body and lead to serious health problems, including cancer. The student then found ways to convince his father to quit his addiction," explained another teacher, Geeta Mankar.

The teachers' only regret is that they cannot create a shed for students to eat in the monsoon and that they have no sports equipment. They want the children to participate in the Olympics. Needless to say, Gadchiroli district administration is happy with the school. "We will encourage other institutes to visit this school and learn from it," said an official.

The teachers
Arun Duddhabaware
Damaji Bhoyar
Geeta Mankar
Prathiba Chaudari
Kalpana Bhong
Neelkant Rohankar
Pallavi

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