From classes under tree to computers, Kovind village gets ‘smart’
LUCKNOW: President-elect Ram Nath Kovind received his early education under a tree in a ‘school’ that has now been reduced to a cowshed. It was another story then.
Now, the existing three government primary and one upper primary schools in Kovind’s ancestral village Paraukhan, in Kanpur Dehat, will have smart classes with computers ‘driven’ by solar power so that students get uninterrupted power supply.
The 325-odd students of these government schools, which are bereft of any facilities, can also hope to get projectors and pre-recorded lectures in CDs. The schools’ buildings will undergo complete renovation and students will get the best of facilities in few months’ time.
The union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) has taken up the task to develop all the four schools in Kovind’s village.
On Monday, the eve of Kovind’s swearing in as President, a senior MHRD official from New Delhi called up Kanpur Dehat basic siksha adhikari (BSA) Pawan Tripathi over phone and asked him to prepare a detailed proposal so that rejuvenation work of the government schools could start at the earliest. “Presently, 100 students are enrolled in the government upper primary school and 225 students in the three primary schools. They are bereft of any facilities. They do not even have tables and chairs and have to sit on the floor. But all this will soon be a thing of the past. MHRD has communicated to us that students of the village will now enjoy better facilities,” said the BSA.
Assistant director, basic education (Kanpur region), Fateh Bahadur said, “We have received verbal communication from MHRD. It is definitely heartening news for all students studying in those government schools. This will also help in increasing the student enrolment of not only these schools but also those in surrounding areas.”
Kovind studied in Paraukhan till class 5 and then moved to a government school in Khanpur, nearly 8 km away. He, along with his friends Vijaypal Singh and Jaswant Singh, remained there for the next three years.
“The President-elect had to face caste discrimination in his village school. His teachers made him do petty jobs — like laying mattresses before classes began and then rolling them back when the school gave over -- all because he was a dalit,” said Manharan Singh Gaur, who was one class junior to Kovind in the school.
› We have received verbal communication from MHRD. It is definitely heartening news for all students studying in those government schools. This will also help in increasing the student enrolment of not only these schools but also those in surrounding areas
FATEH BAHADUR, Assistant director, basic education (Kanpur region)
Teachers, students and non-teaching staff of the BNSD Intermediate College are thrilled as one of the college’s alumni— Ram Nath Kovind—is all set to be sworn in as the 14th President of India in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The college management has decided to illuminate the institution besides organising a community feast on the day to celebrate the occasion. Preparations are in full swing at the college for the live telecast of the oath taking ceremony. Principal of the college, RC Singh, said that students and teachers will offer sweets in and outside the college.
Moreover, eight family members of the President-elect left for New Delhi on Sunday night by train. They include Kovind’s elder brother Pyarelal, sister-inlaw Vidyavati, cousins Deepak, Pankaj, Shivkumar, Hemlata and Kamlesh. Rajkishore Kamal, the son-in-law Kovind’s elder brother Alok, also left for Delhi.
Kovind’s sister-in-law (Bhabhi) Vidyawati has also carried Rasiaur (a sweet dish made with rice and sugarcane juice) and Laddu with her as her brother-in-law likes them. “I will also prepare Khadi as Kovind is very fond of the dish,” said Vidyavati. Kovind has also invited his three friends Satish Chandra Misra, Madhusudan Goel and Dr Jai Gopal to his swearing-in ceremony,” said party’s district unit president Surendra Maithani.
PREPARATIONS ARE IN FULL SWING AT THE COLLEGE FOR THE LIVE TELECAST OF THE OATH TAKING CEREMONY.