A young headmaster at a government primary school in Telangana has turned into an internet sensation after his challenge to encourage students to attend school went viral. 30-year-old G Satish, headmaster at a government primary school in Adavidevulapally of Chityal mandal, decided to put the goodwill he enjoys among the villagers to good use.
In March, after much contemplation, Satish had put up a banner on the school premises, announcing that if he comes late or leaves the school earlier than the scheduled time, the village panchayat leaders can deduct Rs 1,300, one day’s worth of his salary and spend it on the welfare of the school.
“Our children are lucky to have a teacher like him,” village Sarpanch Rama Rao wrote on Facebook while sharing the photo of the banner. The post went viral.
“A common perception prevailing among people is that government teachers do not come to school and hence parents are sceptical about sending their kids to a government school. I want to prove them wrong. I want to clear that misconception and encourage parents to send their children to government schools,” Satish said, explaining the motive behind his challenge.
Why the challenge is formidable
For Satish, the challenge is a Herculean task, considering he stays 45 km from the school in Miryalaguda, with his wife, Lakshmi Prasanna. It takes him at least 1.5 hours to reach the school.
"I had prepared the banner in January. But I was sceptical initially as I did not know if I would be able to come on time every day because I stay really far,” he laughs.
But he has, thus far, managed to reach the school on time, for which he credits his wife. “Because my wife is punctual, I reach 30 minutes before the school commences. This gives me time to interact with the villagers and seeing me, the students rush to the school,” he says.
How Satish has improved the school
Satish, a native of Madugulapalli in Nalgonda district, has greatly improved the enrollment of students in the school. Until eight years ago, he was the staff and the headmaster of the school. It then had only 21 students; today, the school has a strength of 63 students.
Though building toilets and providing safe drinking water should be government initiated, Satish spent Rs 70,000 from his own pocket to add these facilities at the school.
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“In 2016, the government was supposed to release Rs 90,000 to build toilets and provide water facility. In the first installment, they sanctioned Rs 45,000. Out of this, we spent Rs 20,000 to construct a tank for drinking water purpose. We then wrote to the education department stating that we would use the rest of the amount to construct toilets. However, due to some policy change at the government level, the remaining sanctioned amount was taken back, and the rest of the amount allotted to the school was also never sanctioned,” he explains.
Satish later sought reimbursement from the government, but he did not have any bills to account for the expenses. “Although I did try to seek reimbursement for a few days, after a while I told myself that I built those facilities for my own kids,” he says.
“Lack of toilets was one of the reasons girl students would not come to school. We have built six toilets now. But since this is not sufficient, we have made a fresh proposal to build more toilets,” says Satish.
The headmaster also credits the mandal Education Officer Balu Naik for the acknowledgement that he has received. “He identified my potential and entrusted me with great responsibilities. He would regularly enquire about the school, which was another driving force,” says Satish.
Satish got transfer opportunities twice. However, he refused the offer and has continued teaching in the same school. “Initially I wanted to move to a town area, but then I developed an attachment to the villagers and the children here, so I didn’t seek a transfer. I’m really content here,” he tells TNM.