Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 5

Teachers of Government Primary School, Portmore, Shimla, have set a unique example for others by spending Rs 9 lakh from their pocket to provide facilities for students. Due to their initiative, the school has become a model school with all facilities and can be compared with any convent or private school.

The initiative was taken by Central Head Teacher Sanjeev Kumar Jistu and others followed suit.

The teachers, including Raj Sharma, Kusum, Kishori Kainthala, Anjana Sanadhia, Kanwaljeet Kaur, Harshlata Gupta, Meena Verma, Ranjana Khanna, Pawan Kumari, Tanuj Chauhan and Kailash Sharma, also gave financial assistance for the school, but the lion’s share of over Rs 5.5 lakh came from Jistu.

The teachers constructed a dining room for students and provided facility to serve hot meals. They themselves deputed teachers for nursery class and paid them salary, besides providing uniforms and track suits to students. Security personnel were engaged to ensure the safety of children.

Charts and teaching tools to children are also provided by them and a computer lab and smart classroom have been set up with the help of teachers and the school managing committee. The school is English medium right from nursery class and this experiment was started by Jistu in 2014.

Jistu, who had taught in this school also as a JBT teacher, was surprised that the enrolment in the school, which was around 500, had dipped to 120 when he joined as head in 2013 and vowed to do something to reverse the trend.

“To begin with, I and another teacher Raj Sharma contributed Rs 80,000 and Rs 11,000 to construct a dining hall with the seating capacity for 200 children,” says Jistu, adding that he had meetings with parents who were sending their kids to private schools and assured them that they would get all facilities in the school.

“We decided to start English medium from Class-I and nursery classes from 2014 and recruited a sweeper whose salary is being paid by me till date,” he said.

His next target is to construct an auditorium and six classrooms while 16 toilets have been constructed and dress code imposed. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the enrolment had increased to 350, which was the highest increase in any school in the state, he said.

“Teachers in other schools crying for funds should take clue from this school,” said a retired officer of the Education Department.

It’s getting better

School: Govt Primary School, Portmore, Shimla

Facilities

Dining room for students, hot meal facility

Teachers for nursery class, English medium

Uniform and track suits for students

Security personnel

Next target

Auditorium and six classrooms