He probably wanted her to know the grassroots. Or may be set a trend.
Whatever, Erode District Collector R. Anandakumar's decision to admit his daughter A. Gopika in a government primary school on Wednesday did take the district by a pleasant surprise.
More so when the queue of parents with their wards in tow outside private schools seems to just wind and wind to eternity.
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Mr. Anandakumar, the first citizen of the district, accompanied six-year-old Gopika to the Panchayat Union Primary School at Kumalankuttai on Wednesday morning, and told the teachers that he wanted to admit his daughter in Standard II.
He filled in the admission form, and handed it over to headmistress of the school, S. Rani. “It was a pleasant surprise to all of us. We are really happy to have the Collector's daughter in our school,” teachers said. Gopika, who was initially seen crying, soon got along well with other children in the class.
The teachers gathered the children in the class and started teaching them using learning cards provided under the Activity Based Learning method. Mr. Anandakumar, however, refused to comment on his act.
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The Collector's action has surprised many parents in the district, which has a number of well-known private schools. Many parents from Erode and other parts of the State wait in queue at these schools for an admission.
“The Collector's action will encourage more parents to admit their children in government schools. Our schools provide an excellent environment for learning these days. The quality of the government schools has improved a lot and is even better than that of private schools now,” Chief Educational Officer (SSA) Pon Kumar said.
Adequate infrastructure facilities have been created in all the government primary schools in the district, he said.