Crowdfunding turns girls’ govt school in Sirsa into Shiksha Express

The villagers collected ₹60,000 to buy an LED TV and revamped the school walls.

Shiksha Express has arrived at the Government Girls Primary School in Kherakan village of Sirsa district with an aim to make the learning a fun activity for the young children here.

The classrooms of the Government Girls Primary School in Kherakan village painted like a train’s compartment; and students and staff of the school. (HT Photo)

To make education more interactive for students, some residents of village have come together and turned the boring school classrooms into train coaches and foyer into platform through crowdfunding.

The walls inside Shiksha Express display English and Hindi alphabet tables, poems, graffiti and other informative data.

Men behind makeover

Villagers Lovepreet Singh, Sushil Bishnoi, Sarvjeet, Vinod Kamboj, Sandeep Kumar, Baljot Singh, Subhash and Hardeep Bhatia took the onus to refurbish the local school on themselves and sourced around ₹60,000 for the purpose.

"Understanding children’ psychology is very easy as they learn by observing the surroundings. Residents of this village are not so well off to send their students to private schools in a bid to get more exposure. So we decided to take the village’s school on par with modern schools,” said Sandeep.

"Last year, there were only 97 students who took admissions in this school. But the number has gone up to 147 this year. Of these students, 136 are already attending the classes, while the others will be joining soon. Not only villagers, even the schoolteachers also helped us,” said Lovepreet.

The teachers here are also gearing up for much better teaching sessions by using pictures and TV. A teacher, Bharti Rohillan, said, “Girl students are getting a good environment and they are now eager to attend the school daily. With a playful atmosphere, their learning process is also improving. In my 14 years of teaching experience, this has been the most innovative way to teach students.”

Next on cards: Swings, toys

The villagers are now collecting money to install swings and get toys for girls so that they can play and learn better.

School principal Shalu Rani said, “The villagers are working really hard and have come up with this innovative idea. Girls of the village are more than ever keen to come to the classes now.”