We need more “smart” teachers like him!

Shravan Kumar Devangan is a role model for teachers of government-run schools in India. A school in Mardapoty, Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, stands out with smart classrooms, a good ambiance, a kitchen garden and flowerbeds with both teachers and students taking care of them. It would be difficult to imagine such a school in a tribal village. But Devangan made it happen

It would be a fallacy to assume that every government-run school is lacking quality education. An overwhelming public at present doubts the standard of education in public schools, especially in villages.

But a school in Mardapoty, Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, stands out with smart classrooms, a good ambience, a kitchen garden and flowerbeds with both teachers and students taking care of them. It would be difficult to imagine such a school in a tribal village. It’s a kind of school where parents will like to send their children without any hesitation.

Its teachers and students contributed to the change. A healthy environment leaves a visitor awe-struck. The change mainly came through an initiative by Shravan Kumar Devangan after his posting as an assistant teacher in 2016.

Devangan recalls that the school complex looked more like a barren land when he joined it.

He made an optimum use of government schemes. “Although it was good in terms of quality of education, it’s ambiance was not satisfactory,” he said.

The school staff as well as the students fully backed his initiative. “Also, the sarpanch mahodaya provided us financial support and we renovated this public school,” says Shravan.

The school boundary wall was white-washed. A kitchen garden and flower-beds came up soon. The school started growing seasonal vegetables, cooking and serving then in mid-day meals for students. Parents prefer private schools for their children due to better quality of education and amenities there. He said he was trying to bring his school to the same level.

“I got an idea to provide smart classrooms for students with projectors and computers,” says Shravan.

“I downloaded images, clips and videos of various chapters from YouTube. I displayed these videos on projectors in classrooms. It helped the learning process and amused the students to learn in a better way,” he said. Now, the school attendance on any given day is about 99 per cent.