Government school painted like a train
The Government Lower Primary School at Sannekere near Koppa carries a new name board – ‘Sannakere Chinnara Express’. The school with 24 students has a got new look, resembling a train. Madan, an artist based in Koppa, gave final touches on Thursday evening and since then students and local people busy taking photographs posing in front of school walls resembling a train.
The school, started in 1998, has maintained the strength around 25-30 students all these years, though there is another Government Higher Primary School a km away. As the village is located only 4 km away from Koppa, many people prefer private schools in the town to government ones. For some years, there was only one teacher in the school, resulting in a slight reduction in the strength. “Two years ago, one more teacher was posted here. We are making efforts to attract students and having painted the school like a train is one such measure,” said A. Bharathi, an assistant teacher in the school.
The teachers felt the building needed painting. Headmaster M.S. Nataraj and assistant teacher Bharathi, who were aware of a painting of school walls resembling trains in Kerala and one school in Udupi district, wanted to replicate the same here too. “We approached some donors and received a good response. Our students parents also assisted Madan, the artist,” Ms. Bharathi said.
Work over in short time – The work began on March 11 and ended by March 22. Senior officers of the Education Department also appreciated the initiative. “We are happy with the response from the officers, parents and students. The students are happy with the new look,” said Mr. Nataraj. The money spent on the painting was about ₹16,000. “The artist, who worked continuously, charged only for the material. The school is grateful to him,” Ms. Bharathi added.