Class act: No schoolbag in this Kinnaur govt school

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 13 

At a time when the bag burden has been weighing down students, a government school in the tribal Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh has a lesson for its counterparts, particularly those in the private sector.

The Government Central Primary School at Kothi near Reckong Peo, the district headquarters, has taken the lead in becoming the first “bag-less school” of the state. To begin with, it has done away with bags for Class I and II — this is the second year of the initiative. 

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Whatever homework is considered mandatory is completed under the supervision of the teachers in the school itself, so that there is no need for the students to carry their notebooks home. “The comfort of traversing without the burdensome bags is noticeable in a state where, due to the hilly terrain, children have to trek several kilometres to reach school and vice versa,” quips a teacher.

Another reason to adopt the initiative was that parents of a large number of wards weren’t educated enough to help them with homework. 

“The school has emerged as a role model. As a reward, teachers and other staff have been issued appreciation certificates,” says Manmohan Sharma, Director, Elementary Education. He says such innovative ideas are brought to the notice of the department by deputy directors concerned during monthly review meetings and the “best practices are highlighted, appreciated and promoted”.   What’s more, the school authorities have mobilised resources at the local level to arrange for computers, and have even equipped all classrooms with CCTV cameras and have video-conferencing facility in place.

While the proposal to start nursery classes in all public sector institutions is awaiting the government’s approval, the Kothi school has not only started nursery classes, but has also introduced English from the nursery level. Besides, the school has been providing free track-suits to students and is also contemplating starting coaching facilities to help the needy prepare for competitive examinations.

“The idea behind the initiative is to ensure that the students, once out of school, are not burdened with studies and have ample time to involve themselves in physical and co-curricular activities,” says teacher Trilok Chand, the brain behind the initiative.