Have you seen classrooms that look like train compartments, or gigantic “snake-and-ladder” game painted on the floor of a school? Well, a school in a remote village in Jharkhand’s East Singhbumn district is making all efforts to attract students to attend school. And the efforts of journalist-turned-teacher Arvind Tiwary have paid off, as the dropout rate in Upgraded Middle School in Tangrain village in Potka block.

With the new enrollments, the total number of students from standards 1 to 8 has gone up to 269.

Efforts made by Arvind Tiwari

Arvind Tiwary applies innovative ideas to enroll children and motivate them to pursue studies seriously ever since he himself joined the government school, about 45 kilometers from Jamshedpur, in 2017.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Tiwary gave three rooms of the five-room single-story school building the shape of railway compartments. He said that the changes have attracted students. He added that he spent money from his pocket on the makeover.

Admitting that the dropout rate in rural pockets is high, 50-year-old Tiwary said the majority of tribal children could not express their problems to those who come from outside. To break this inhibition, Tiwary, who is a resident of Jamshedpur city, said he tried to approach them through sports and games.

His other efforts too turned the school into the most sought-after one in the vicinity as far as enrollment of children is concerned.

He used to roam around in villages carrying textbooks, storybooks, pens, pencils, and crayons during the lockdown period to inculcate reading habits among children and solve problems in subjects like mathematics at their doorstep.

In a recent incident, Tiwary challenged the students to memorize tables within a timeframe and promised to take them to a movie if they succeeded. The students who did it were taken to a screening of ‘Bahubali’ in Jamshedpur.

Appreciating Tiwary’s efforts, the villagers have donated around 12 kathas of land for the development of the school. The authorities have already erected a boundary wall on the land.

Besides, gardening, mushroom production, swimming competition, and archery training are also taught to students. Tiwary was honoured with a district-level award for his contribution to the field of education this year.