Garbage dump turned into a smart school
FATEHGARH SAHIB Where there is a will there is a way. The proverb holds true for government primary school teacher, Jagtar Singh, 40, who transformed a village dumping ground into a smart school. He is the only teacher from Punjab to figure in the coveted list of National Teachers Awards-2121.
Posted at Government Primary School in Manela village of Fatehgarh Sahib district since 2015, Jagtar, now the head teacher, started from scratch and the results are overwhelming. Jagtar raised around ₹30 lakh through donations for construction of the new building that houses an education park, open library and smart classrooms. “Three of the four classrooms are fully air-conditioned, while there is transportation facility for the students. The school premise re equipped with CCTV cameras,” he said.
In 2018, the school was declared the cleanest school in the state under the Swachh Bharat programme. “All the credit goes to my colleagues, students and the village panchayat, which helped me in executing what I had envisioned,” said Jagtar, who himself is an alumnus of the same primary school.
“I have a close association with the school. I, my father and my grandfather studied here. My aim was to provide students the best academic facilities,” he said.
At the time of his joining in 2015, there were only 43 students and the building was in a dilapidated sate. Now, as many as 137 students from five nearby villages are enrolled in the school.
Jagtar was also appointed nodal officer of Fatehgarh Sahib district to develop more smart schools.