Jharkhand School uses Innovative Methods to Attract Students

Source: The Indian Express

Have you seen classrooms that look like train compartments, or gigantic "snake-and-ladder" game painted on the floor of a school? Well, a school in a remote village in Jharkhand's East Singhbumn district is making all efforts to attract students to attend school. 

The efforts of journalist-turned-teacher Arvind Tiwary have paid off, as the dropout rate in Upgraded Middle School in Tangrain village in Potka block is now zero.

Arvind Tiwary applies innovative ideas to enroll children and motivate them to pursue studies seriously ever since he himself joined the government school, about 45 kilometers from Jamshedpur, in 2017.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Tiwary gave three rooms of the five-room single-story school building the shape of railway compartments. He said that the changes have attracted students. He added that he spent money from his pocket on the makeover.

Since the dropout rate in rural pockets is high, 50-year-old Tiwary said the majority of tribal children could not express their problems to those who come from outside. 

To break this inhibition, Tiwary said he tried to approach them through sports and games.

His other efforts too turned the school into the most sought-after one in the vicinity as far as enrollment of children is concerned.

He used to roam around in villages carrying textbooks, storybooks, pens, pencils, and crayons during the lockdown period to inculcate reading habits among children and solve problems in subjects like mathematics at their doorstep.

Also read: Schools to Reopen for Classes 6 to 8 in Jharkhand