Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): When the students returned to Government Vidya Vihar Higher Secondary School in Professor Colony here after 18-month long Covid-induced break on July 26, a pleasant surprise was in store for them.
The school building wore a completely new look. The classrooms had been painted afresh, the boundary wall repaired and its height raised, the grounds were levelled and the broken furniture was replaced with new one.
All this, as say some students and members of school staff, due to a dedicated band of teachers of the school, who, led by the principal Nisha Kamrani, worked throughout the lockdown to transform the school.
Of course, all the work was done by government agencies, including the PWD and Bhopal Municipal Corporation. But it was the persistent follow-up by the school’s teaching staff and particularly the principal that yielded positive results, say students and staff members.
When Kamrani joined the post in March 2019, it was a typical government school - broken furniture, building in a state of disrepair, leaky ceilings, damp walls and nothing to prevent anti-social elements from sneaking into the premises at night.
Kamrani set out to improve things. “It was not that it was my official duty. But I felt I should do it,” Kamrani told Free Press. She began by merging two shifts of the school into one. “When we have enough space to accommodate all the students, where was the need to run the school in two shifts,” she said.
The school now opens at 10.30 am and closes for the day from 4 pm to 5 pm. The closing time is different for primary classes, middle classes and remaining classes. A dress code was also introduced for teaching staff.
Sunita Pal who studies in class 12 said, “I am surprised to see the new look of the school. There is no seepage from the walls or roof of classrooms and they have new benches and a garden and ground to play. The broken boundary wall has also been repaired and its height raised to prevent tresspassing. Eight CCTV cameras have been installed at different places on the premises. Now, we very good and safe.”
Another student Sakshi Ahirwar said, “The school has become far better. It is cleaner. It has been painted and there is no dirt and rubble. A playground has been made for us.” The school has been chosen by education department for upgrading it under Mission 1000 and CM Rise School scheme.
