Kokkallur school to represent state in National Children's Science Congress

KOZHIKODE: Government HSS Kokkallur near Balusserry has got the rare recognition of representing the state at the National Children's Science Congress (NCSE) for the second consecutive time. Among the ten schools which represent Kerala in the senior section, this is the only one from the district. The work of five students and teacher-cum-guide was selected under the Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development category. The students have made a comprehensive study of the local food production and marketing for sustainable development based on paddy crop.

"Kottanada Vayal in Panangad grama panchayat was the primary focus. Along with the data from the statistical department, the study concluded that the area of paddy cultivation and production has dwindled," said botany teacher Sindhu E.S., their guide. Another significant contribution was Kathir, a mobile app they developed, which contains every bit of information on paddy cultivation. "Many students and youngsters do not know where from the rice comes. It triggered us to develop an app on paddy crop," says P. Nanditha, one of the students.

The app features area of paddy cultivation and production in each block panchayat of the district besides experiences of traditional farmers such as Cheruvayal Raman and Chathamangalam Jayakrishnan. The app also features traditional agriculture equipment, local varieties of seed, agrarian practices, etc. The other students who were part of the project are K. Soorya, A. Sneha, Nayana Suresh and Ansija Sethu. The five-day NCSE opens at Baramati in Maharashtra on Dec 27.