Gopinatham govt school gives pvt rivals run for their money

Chamarajanagara: Government schools have earned such a bad reputation that no parent would want to send their children. They would look upon private schools as a passport to better life. The reason being that teaching standards and facilities in government-run schools are not up to the mark. But contrary to this belief, a government school in Gopinatham, a village close to Tamil Nadu border in Chamarajanagara district has become most sought after among parents in the area.

Gopinatham once earned a notoriety as dreaded sandalwood smuggler Veerappan was born here and created a terror for over a decade between 1980 and 1990. Government servants, police officers and politicians dared not venture here for fear of being kidnapped by the smuggler. But that is all past now.

Now, Gopinatham Government Primary School is attracting students for its extracurricular activities for children such as yoga, physical exercises, gardening, cultural activities, wall writing, etc apart from providing quality education.

Surrounded by forests, the village is situated in Hanur taluk of the district. The one man who has changed the face of the school is teacher V Veerappa, a native of Shagyam village of Hanur taluk.

At a time when other teachers were hesitant to go to school because of the fear of brigand Veerappan in 90s, Veerappa was appointed as a teacher here and he faced the challenge head-on. He was promoted as headmaster in 2019 soon after which he started transforming the school.

Within two years, Veerappa ensured that the school became the best institution. With the help of donors and school betterment committee, he got the dilapidated building renovated and those who dropped out came back. The school with 265 students studying in classes I to VIIIth standard has all the facilities that any private school boasts of. It stands out for its clean drinking water facility for children. Separate toilets for boys and girls are always kept clean. As part of extracurricular activities, the children get a chance to do gardening and grow vegetables that meet the needs of mid-day meals in the school. The walls of the building are a veritable encyclopaedia with pictures of animals, birds, messages on environment conservation, English grammar and pronunciation, popular proverbs, names of Jnanpith Award winners, etc. As part of ensuring all-round development, children are taught yoga and physical exercises. They play kabaddi, volleyball and other sports besides practising long jump, high jump.

Speaking to The Hans India, Veerappa explains that students should enjoy learning, it should not become boring and a burden on them. "We are creating interest among children to learn so that they can make steady progress without feeling the burden of education," Veerappa elaborated.