A New Kerala Model in Education?

KOZHIKODE: The recently released Malayalam movie Edakkad Battalion 06 is getting a decent response in theatres. One scene in particular has grabbed more public attention than the movie itself - a song in which the bride’s father invites guests to a resort in Karaparamba for the wedding.

People in nearby Kozhikode town would have been surprised to hear about a resort in Karaparamba!

In fact, the scene is set in neither a wedding resort, nor the five-star sort the Congress might rent out to save their MLAs from being bought up by the BJP.

Surprisingly, it is the Government Higher Secondary School in Karaparamba in the district of Kozhikode.

It didn’t take much time and effort for the art director to transform the school building, freshly rebuilt by the state government at a cost of 12 crores, into a resort.

The 112 year old school was renovated under the aegis of an initiative called PRISM, or Promoting Regional Schools to International Standards through Multiple Interventions, led by A.Pradeepkumar, the CPM MLA from Kozhikode North.

With a dilapidated building and facilities, the school was on the verge of being closed down. Twelve years ago the number of students enrolled in it had dwindled to a mere 90, from well over five hundred in the past.

With the dramatic turnaround in basic infrastructure, there are now more than 700 students in the school.

It is equipped with smart classrooms (which have computer and projector facilities), a two-storey library, an indoor basketball court, an amphitheatre, a multipurpose hall, an open stage, modern labs, an industrial kitchen and a brand new toilet complex.

All the electricity required by the school is generated in-house, using 30 KV solar panels installed on the rooftops. The school also hosts a rainwater harvesting system with a 50,000 litre capacity. There is an incinerator to dispose of used sanitary napkins, and purpose-built plants to treat other kinds of waste.

The local government vocational higher secondary school, Nadakkavu, was transformed through the same initiative earlier, garnering widespread attention.

Such efforts have led approximately 2.35 lakh students in Kerala to shift from private unaided schools to public schools over the past two years. Will this add up to yet another ‘Kerala model’ in terms of high-tech education?

A still from Edakkad Battalion 06 showing the school