Jodhpur government school scripts success story under alumnus principal
The transformation of the government school in Jodhpur’s Chopasni village began in 2015 when an alumnus, Himmat Singh Ratnoo, became its principal. The school has recorded 100% results since then.
Twelve-year-old Chanchal Charan no longer has to travel 30 kilometres every morning to Jodhpur city to attend a good school. The government school in her home town, Chopasni village, can now give competition to city schools after it was upgraded with help from donors. Chanchal and her elder sister Pratibha study in the village school now.
Several people from the village who shifted to Jodhpur city just to provide better education to their wards have returned to the village. Some private schools in the area have shut down due to shortage of students, say villagers. The Chopasni Government School is getting students from nearby villages, too, said block education officer Manohar Singh.
The school’s transformation began in 2015 when an alumnus, Himmat Singh Ratnoo, became its principal. The school has recorded 100% results since then. The school has a projector room, computer labs, CCTV cameras, library and RO water facility.
“My first aim was to bring the children out of the inferiority complex of studying in a government school. Along with the villagers, I wrote a letter to ONGC and HPCL requesting help to construct two separate toilets for girls and boys as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). The school thus got two toilets that cost ₹3.5 lakh each,” said Ratnoo.
“Several girls who dropped out after a certain age due to lack of toilet facilities in school returned to study here,” said Tima Ram Dhandhu, a villager.
“The next step was ensuring sufficient number of teachers. At present, there are 17 teachers in the school. I contacted several philanthropists and wrote letters to many others requesting financial assistance. The Rotary Club donated a projector and we raised over ₹4 lakh to construct gated boundary walls and a prayer ground. Several others, including the village panchayat, contributed to construct classrooms in the school and install CCTV cameras,” said Ratnoo.
Jay Narayan Gehlot, sarpanch of Chopasni village, said that the entire village made it a vision to give a good school to the children of the village. “Having a school like this in a village like ours where the health facilities could not reach is an achievement. The entire village made it a vision to get better education facilities for our children. The panchayat collected money to make four new rooms in the school,” said Gehlot.
Suresh Ratnoo, panchayat shayak, said he went door-to-door along with the teachers of the school explaining the developments in the school to the villages and motivating children, especially girls, to join the school. “We told the people that the school has better education facilities and toilets. Now the number of girls and boys who study in the school is almost the same. From a single village we managed to bring 50-60 new students to join the school, ”said Suresh.
Sarla Ratnoo, a student of class 12, said: “I can dream big now as I can continue with my education. Had the school been far away or without facilities, it would not have been possible.”
The school has a strength of more than 350 students and provides Identity cards and uniforms. “CCTV cameras have been installed in the classes. The teachers and I keep watch over every activity in the school. We keep organising sports and other extra-curricular activities from time to time to give boost students’ exposure,” said the proud principal.