Thiruvananthapuram: While all other schools in the state celebrated ‘Pravesanolsavam’, it was ‘Madhuram 2016’ at the Government Central High School, Attakkulangara. “This is a sweet revenge we take on those who were ungrateful to our history and culture,” veteran CPM leader V S Achuthanandan said inaugurating the celebrations. He was referring to the UDF government’s order to hand over two acres of the school land to Trivandrum Development Authority.
Mr Achuthanandan said that the previous government viewed everything from the viewpoint of profit and loss, and classified the school as uneconomical. “The project to build a KSRTC bus stand here was only an excuse to close down the school,” he said.
Mr Achuthanandan said the new government inherited the soul of the 1957 EMS government, which made school education accessible, compulsory and free for everyone. “Education Minister C. Raveendranath has made it clear that schools do not function on the basis of profits and losses. So, it is certain that the Attakkulangara school’s future is safe,” he said. It won't be long before the school gets a higher secondary status, he added.
The veteran leader praised the efforts of the School Samrakshana Samithi, Tree Walk and all well-wishers who worked together to protect the school with its 127-year-old history.
The school, which in 2013 had over 40 students, now has over 165 students; the school administration is aiming for 250 students this year. “We want to make it 500 in the next year,” said headmaster Suresh Babu.
The school has now Kathakali classes by Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboothiri, kalari classes, and yoga, he said. Well-known sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman said he will start a project involving the teachers and children in the school. “We all will together create a work,” he said. The school should be developed into a cultural hub like Shantiniketan, he said.
Nelliyode said he was about to set out for Spain to perform Don Quixote in Kathakali form. “But for me, teaching students here is more important,” he said.
School Samrakshana Samithi president E.M. Radha, secretary Saji Kumar and PTA president S. Shajahan spoke.
