Srinivas Gowda proudly holds up a small ‘korambu’ his 11-year-old daughter Chaitanya made. “This is our traditional raincoat!” beams the 45-year-old.
Mr. Gowda is proud that his daughter, in 5th standard, has learnt the art of making korambu at the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School in Valakadama village in Puttur taluk of Mangaluru. Chaitanya can also make ‘makkeri’ (tool to catch fish) and ‘kudupu’ (sieve).
“These are objects we use every day. By learning to make them, children are connected to their environment,” says Sandesh H.S., headmaster of the school.
Valakadama and 40 other government schools in Puttur taluk follow the Vision Puttur programme — an initiative mooted by Puttur Block Education Officer G. Shashidhar for image building of government schools. “Education is not restricted to textbooks,” says Mr. Shashidhar. But Vision Puttur is not just about going hyperlocal and being environment-friendly.
Teaching communicative English is as much a part of the agenda. Separate classes are held to improve communicative English for students from classes 1 to 7. While the in-house module ‘Gubbachhi (sparrow) Speaking’ is adopted for classes 1 to 4, another developed by Chennai-based Karadi Path is adopted for classes 5 to 7. Locally available resource persons are called to impart a range of skills — from public speaking to repairing of cycles. A school in Nelliyadi teaches students how to make banana chips.
