It’s the end of the school day and Suresh Kumar, the headmaster, finally has some time away from the constant chaos to talk about his work, which fetched him a National Award to Teachers from the MHRD this year. As he stands on the school grounds of ZPHS, Nidamanuru, in Vijayawada (Rural) mandal, listing all the fundraising initiatives through which the school infrastructure has been improved, Srilatha, a Physical Education Teacher who teaches wrestling, comes running towards him. After some informal chatter, she asks, “A lot of students are staying past 6 pm to train. Could you arrange for eggs for these students?”
Srilatha trains students for wrestling
More than a hundred students have stayed back to play baseball, football and hockey, or train for wrestling with Srilatha. Suresh laughs and says he’ll see what he can do. Considering his record, the request is more likely than not to be met. In his two-year stint as the school’s HM, Suresh has striven to bring every possible opportunity for his teachers and students, and plans on continuing to do so.
“I want our students to have access to all the opportunities available in private schools. There should be no gap,” Suresh says. As an administrator, he says he wants to provide all the facilities so that being in school is a comfortable, joyful experience for students.
The school culture
Although the school only has classes 6 to 10, it is one of the largest government schools in Krishna district with a strength of 1,380 students. Managing such a huge school, with 48 teachers and nearly 30 classrooms, seems like a formidable task. But Suresh seems to have it more or less figured out.
Parvathi, a biology teacher who teaches classes 7, 8 and 10, says that Suresh, who had earlier been a teacher at the same school, is not a conventional boss. “There’s no pressure or intimidation, he gives teachers a lot of freedom. He sets an example through his work, he is the first to arrive and last to leave. His work makes us feel accountable towards our own,” she says.
Paul, who recently joined the school as a Special Education Teacher, says, “To teach students with physical disabilities, or learning difficulties, it’s important to have a classroom culture where there’s no fear. This is only possible with the HM’s cooperation.”
Class 10 students in the Digital Class Room during a Physics lesson
Pradeep Karuturi, who has worked with Suresh and his school on the state government’s Digital Classroom (DCR) Project, agrees. “I have interacted with the students several times. Most of them are very bright, articulate and curious. The credit goes to the teachers, but also to the HM for enabling the teachers,” he says, adding that to a large extent the harmony among teachers and their investment in their jobs comes from the HM’s prioritisation of their needs.
“We have weekly review meetings on Saturday, where the teachers update me on the students’ progress. I have a WhatsApp group with the teachers, where I send them all materials and resources I come across, like sports tournaments, scholarship exams, etc. so they make sure students access these opportunities,” says Suresh.
Providing the best resources
Having struggled in the past as a teacher to juggle administrative work and other pressures, Suresh says, “I want no admin work during teaching hours, no power cuts, no sanitation problems, drinking water shortage. I want to fulfil all the needs of the students and teachers so they can be completely focused on teaching and learning.”
While the school does have the advantage of being one of the biggest in the district and therefore more likely to get government funding for various projects, Suresh has also independently worked to raise funds from local donors, NRIs and alumni of the school.
“We donated one Digital Classroom by raising funds through NRIs as part of the AP Janmabhoomi initiative. We contributed to more than 2,000 schools, but Suresh is among the very few who would constantly send updates on how students were learning through it,” says Pradeep. This led to two more DCRs, as well as a sanitary pad incinerator, being brought in through NRI funds. Pradeep says that Suresh’s enthusiasm towards the school’s development, his networking skills and ability to pitch ideas effectively has made it easy for him to obtain funds.
While the school is in the process of getting a Virtual Classroom and an Atal Tinkering Lab through government funds, Suresh has added a lot of other infrastructure in the past two years through private donors. This includes a borewell for adequate drinking water, improved sanitation facilities for girls, sports equipment and books for the library. The school is also entirely powered by a solar plant set up with funds worth nearly Rs 8 lakh raised from alumni of the class of 1993-94.
According to Suresh, nearly 2000 kWh of electricity is generated per month, which is directed to the power distribution company directly. “We consume around 300 kWh on a monthly basis, so the DISCOM actually owes us money in return,” he says. Teachers claim that earlier, due to limited resources to pay bills, the fans and lights would often remain off, but now even the DCRs are used on a daily basis.
Student impact
Apart from fostering a culture of learning and curiosity, the school has also seen some tangible results in the past two years. The pass percentage in class 10 has increased from 75% in 2017 to 84% in 2019. The school’s strength has also increased from 1,200 to 1,380.
With 3 PE teachers, sports are also highly encouraged and coaching is provided for multiple sports.
Suresh, who is from Kosuru Vari Palem village in Krishna district, has himself faced a lot of struggles to attain formal education. Due to financial difficulties, he had even dropped out of school when in class 6 to work in a cycle repair shop.
“I didn’t go to school for about 6 months. A teacher found out and made sure I was enrolled into class 7 the next year. Since then, I haven’t looked back,” Suresh says. He obtained his Trained Teachers Certificate (TTC) after his Intermediate and has been teaching since 1989. He completed his BSc and MSc in Mathematics, and B Ed, M Ed and MA in English Literature, all through distance learning.
“I try to raise funds for exam registrations, etc. as well. Sometimes I end up spending money from my own pocket. Since most of our students come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, we make sure there’s no financial burden on their parents,” he says.
Having come close to dropping out of school, Suresh says he wants to ensure that none of his students has to drop out either.