Kerala: Jawahar Nagar School learns a survival lesson

Thiruvananthapuram: In the week when AUPS, Malaparamba, shut down, a quaint little government-aided lower primary school inside Jawahar Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram, has brought some good news. Following a tie-up with a private Montessori school in the city, the school has registered a rise in its strength. While it is still early to talk about its impact, school officials sound hopeful.

The change is not just in the strength but on the freshly painted school walls. This year the school has a bus. The Montessori's teachers divide their time between the LP school and the Montessori, exposing students and teachers here to new training methods.

The school's story becomes particularly interesting, as there are five other private schools within its vicinity. "We hear about government schools and aided schools closing down. But these schools should be protected," says N Jayakumar, Secretary, Jawahar Nagar Welfare Association. The school is managed by a Trust set up by the Association.

From somewhere around 40 last year, the number of students has risen to more than 70 now, according to N Jayakumar. He is a former student of the school. "I am the only alumnus who continues to stay in the colony. I was roll No. 13, when the school started in 1966," he says.

Some of his schoolmates went on to become top officials in the government. The school's alumni include former Chief Secretaries as well as various other noted personalities, he says. The affluent families of Jawahar Nagar enrolled their children here, he said. "Those days, St Joseph's High School did not have an LP section. However, by the 80's, the school's strength started to reduce, as by then many major private schools came up in the city," he says.

It was over the past few years that the school's revival story started. A noted dance school in the city, it offers its students dance classes for free. The students can also join for a self-defense Karate course. The school had started special free tuitions called 'Pratibhaposhini' for students from a poor financial background. There are many more plans on the card, says Jayakumar.