No laggard, village school launches ad campaign

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 26

The Nakodar block is these days dotted with advertisements put up by a government school informing people about its state-of-the-art facilities asking them to get their wards admitted there.

While such measures are adopted by private schools which boast about better facilities, the Government High School, Uggi, is giving such schools a run for their money.

The advertisements have been put up at the bus stands at Uggi, Choor, Rassoolpur, Talwandi Salem and other villages. Unlike some lofty promises made by private schools, the Uggi school takes pride in its highly qualified teaching staff. One of its teachers is a Ph.D. degree holder.

The school boasts of 100 per cent results, airy rooms, highly qualified teachers, laboratories equipped with latest facilities, extra-curricular activities such as music, embroidery, self-defence and computers and a new smart class room equipped with latest facilities.

When Baljit Singh Chitti, officiating principal, joined the school it had 285 students, the strength is now 321. Given the efforts being made by the school, the student strength is expected to climb further.

Last year, the school enrolled 12 students who were studying in private schools. Even some panchayat officers have preferred a government school over plush private institutes in the area for their wards.

Chitti said: “Private schools have commercialised the education. They charge exorbitant fee. We are advertising about our school to create awareness among people of the area. Our school is certainly giving a tough competition to private players, but many still don’t know about our highly qualified teachers and facilities. The ads will help spread the word.”

Students from far away villages, including Mallian Kalan, Mirpur Mani, Siowal, Kurali, Choor, Rasoolpur and Talwandi Salem, are also on rolls of the school. Many of these villages already have government schools (some senior secondary) in their vicinity, but students prefer to come to Uggi. The school has a water recharge plant, which was set up with the help of Uggi panchayat. It was also among the swachh schools chosen by the HRD Ministry across the country. The school has 13 teachers and 13 rooms. Around 48 per cent of its students got more than 80 per cent marks last year, the principal said.