An Appeal from Project School Van @ Mevarkal LPS

Mevarkal government LPS has been the only primary school in the tiny village of Mevarkal for about nine decades. The school has an alumni of several successful persons that include an IAS officer, a couple of doctors and professors, several distinguished government officials, and a number of professionals, NRIs, peasants and politicians. Over the years, it has been the village lighthouse that showed the path to education to a number of children from all sections of society. 

Perched at a cliff-like terrain, the government LPS in Mevarkal was once surrounded by picturesque paddy fields and lush greenery of coconut trees and typical village flora. The fields are now mostly barren, save for the banana or tapioca plants. The village flora has been swept aside by a large swathe of rubber trees. The school’s charm is also on the wane.

The number of students joining the First Standard is the barometer of a school’s performance. It used to have been above 40. Up until the 1980s, the number had never dropped below 30. But the 1990s and 2000s had seen a steady decline in the number of students taking admission to the First Standard.  The last few years have seen an average of 15–16 enrollments every year. This is despite the active canvassing from teachers and the School PTA members.

Why villagers are not sending their children to Mevarkal government LPS

The good things in life are available free of cost – from oxygen to email.  Add schooling for the children in Mevarkal to that list. The school offers many advantages, such as

• Excellent faculty
• Pollution free environment
• Good facilities including a computer lab and free study materials
• Breakfast and lunch
• Stress-free learning

Yet, Mevarkal LPS gets only a small fraction of the students enrolling in the First Standard from the village.  Why?

We have done a random survey on why the villagers are opting for the distant private schools when they have a school at their neighbourhood that offers quality education for free. The answers were varied and reflective of the prevailing social outlook.

Some people have chosen the private schools just for the heck of social status. Some people think that the school did not have good teachers or facilities. Some others think that enrolling in a private school would ensure a bright future for their kids. There was a common complaint voiced by virtually all respondents, which is the central point of this write-up: that the school does not offer transportation facility.

The complaint about teaching staff is not fair. It might have been true about a couple of decades or so ago. Then the teachers had not done anything to arrest the decline in the number of students. However, the current crop of teachers is perhaps as good as it can possibly be. They are young and highly qualified. Some of them have even won awards. By the look of it, they go about their work earnestly and show great care for the students.

The results are there for all to see. Many students of Standard IV and V speak reasonably good English. The students generally show a good awareness about the things happening around them. They have won prizes in art festivals and sports meets at sub-district level.

Even if you tell all these good things about the school to the people in the village, who are certainly not the typical villagers any more, they would still be reluctant to send their kids to the government LPS in school. Why? The school does not offer transportation facility. That is something the private schools have in abundance and Mevarkal LPS does not. From this year onwards, the PTA has rented a minivan, a Maruti Ace with a seating capacity of 15.

Project School Van

The parents and the children seem to have welcomed the move. But the problem is the cost – the van rent and driver’s salary. In the long term, the arrangement is not affordable and sustainable. Everybody agrees that the only solution is to buy a van and operate it. The MLA of Kilimanoor, Sri. B. Sathyan, has agreed to help. But the MLA fund can cover only the two-third of the total cost of the vehicle.

Most auto-dealers offer special vans for educational institutions. A van with a seating capacity of 20 costs about Rs. 10 lakhs on road. Even after the MLA’s contribution, the PTA has to find Rs. 3.5 lakhs for the van alone. Another Rs. 2 lakhs will be needed to cover the maintenance and running costs.

The project for buying a school van for Mevarkal LPS needs at least Rs. 5 lakhs. This is a sum the PTA of the school alone cannot afford. In many schools in cities and major towns, the alumni association is financially strong enough to donate the entire sum. But not in Mevarkal LPS. They need the help of virtually all individuals who can understand the need. If you have read so far into this article, we know that you care. And we count on you.

We request you to make your donations to the following account.

Name: K. Kamala (Headmistress) and K.S. Thulaseedharan Pillai (PTA president)

A/c no:  67207675869

Bank: State Bank of Travancore (SBT)

Branch:  Alamcode

IFSC: SBTR0000667

We have started this joint account of a school teacher and the PTA president specifically to collect money for the Project School Van. We can’t give you tax exemptions or any other so-called value-added side benefits. The smile on the children’s faces on the school compound would be your only reward. We believe it adds value to your life.