Thiruvananthapuram: With no students at the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year, Her Highness Sethu Lakshmibai Primary School, Karamana, seemed to be staring closure in the face. This year, on school reopening day, it had 33 students on its rolls, up from 16 last year.
The journey over the past couple of years has been challenging. When Sudharmini Amma took charge as headmistress in September 2015, the school had received a reprieve from closure till Christmas. She decided to put up a board inviting new admissions for Vidyarambham. Two students joined, though one left not long after. December came, and the local highway residents' association approached the Directorate of Public Instruction seeking more time to increase the student strength. Its efforts paid off, with the total number of students going up to 16 last year. This year, it has increased further.
The residents' association, school development committee, alumni and staff have all contributed to this turnaround. A refurbished air-conditioned pre-primary block is the newest addition to the school infrastructure. New desks and chair will be arranged soon here. The noon meal is already cooked using LPG cylinders.
There are plans for laying interlocking tiles and installing play equipment for students. The school has four computers. The facilities, current headmistress S.N. Sreekala hopes, will attract more students to the school.
Dark clouds still hover on the horizon though. The school had to go to court against efforts to take it over for starting a kindergarten school, and has managed to get an adjournment for two more months from May 30. A people's protest too was staged earlier, says school development committee chairperson S. Jaffer.
The increase in admissions, they hope, will keep alive the legacy of this school for more generations.
Yet another school that had only 10 students a couple of years ago had 12 new admissions on Pravesanotsavam day. Authorities at Government Lower Primary School, Oolampara, hope the total strength this year will touch 30.
Besides the colourful classrooms decked up with festoons and streamers, students returning after the summer break can look forward to a few changes. The steps leading into the school compound are gone, replaced by a slope that is child-friendly. A stage too has been built for staging programmes, courtesy the city Corporation. With the school boasting a decent collection of books, there are plans to turn a room into a library.
Apart from the existing toilet facilities, work on a new toilet block with separate urionals and touilets for boys and girls is on. The school which has five computers and Wi-Fi has also received sanction for a new building, equipment, and furniture, to come up at a cost of Rs.30 lakh from the MP fund of Suresh Gopi, says school headmistress Alice Abraham.
Located in 60 cents of land, the school which already has a few trees plans to plant some more, aside from starting rainwater harvesting. It already has a number of plants, including potted ones.
With its students belonging to financially weak segments of society, the school has had to depend on the government, and individuals and institutions such as Hindustan Latex and Keltron for support. Concerted efforts for school development would gradually attract more students to the school, the staff hope.
