Twenty-eight presentations that touched on activities ranging from farming to waste management in schools and their contribution to all-round development of students were presented at Mikavu 2017, organised by the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), here on Wednesday.
The presentations, by school headteachers, showed how, besides academics, social responsibility could be imparted to students, in a hands-on fashion.
Government Higher Secondary School, Odappallam, Sulthan Bathery, won the first prize for its ‘Ente Gramam, Ente Vidyalayam’ initiative that focussed on social responsibility and Scheduled Tribe education. The school had 293 students last year, of which 191 belonged to the Scheduled Tribes. With low attendance and dropouts being common, the school turned to libraries to address the problem.
Meetings were held in libraries on Sundays to rope in local people. Education volunteers groups were then formed, and these groups visited tribal colonies to attract students to schools.
Art forms of tribespeople such as Vattakali of the Paniya community were presented in the school. Half an hour sessions with various personalities involved with tribal arts and other aspects were held every Friday, said school headmistress Indira T.
GGVHSS, Cherukunnu, Kannur, which came second embarked on ‘Oru classroom, oru library,’ for starting libraries in 27 classrooms in the school.
With reading habit thought to be on the decline, the school felt that instead of students walking to libraries, these should be brought to students. School teachers, parent-teacher association (PTA), and Mother PTA contributed to set up cupboards in the classrooms. Up next was books for stocking in the cupboard. The 1,320-odd students in the school, which has classes from class 5 to Plus Two (VHSE), turned to the local people to collect the books. The response was positive — some even collected as many as 10 books from a single house.
The students also set up a biodioversity park in the school named after poet O.N.V. Kurup. Trees and medicinal plants were grown in the park, said school headmaster Abraham Varghese.
Memunda HSS, Vadakara, Kozhikode, which stood third in Mikavu, drew up a calendar of various activities during the year. The calendar laid down the the nature of the activities, their time-period, and the targets. Academic collectives comprising teachers and subject experts and local talents were set up.
Focussing on academic activities, it was decided to expand the RMSA’s Navaprabha remedial teaching programme of the State government for class 9 students of all classes. Residential camps were held for students doing poorly in studies. Students were also taken a tour of Valiamala to get lesson in biodioversity while honing their logical and analysis skills.
The school came together with financial and practical help to build a housefor a schoolmate whose mother was dead and father had brain tumour, said Remesan T.V., headmaster of the school.
