Mullanpur govt school gets makeover to attract students

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 9

“Dekho rail gadi aayi, khel ke maidan me, dekho rail gadi aayi” sings tiny tots of Government Primary School, Mullanpur village, Ludhiana, as they make a beeline for classrooms that have been painted as train bogeys. Ever since the school was given a smart makeover, it witnessed more attendance as students find train look attractive.

When the bell rang, the students rushed to their classrooms just like passengers hurrying to catch the train. The students vied for sitting at the window seat so that they can wave a goodbye to every person passing by their classroom window. During the break time, children would gather around the classrooms and have fun.

The school has a strength of 177 students from classes I to V with seven rooms. Teacher Jagtar Singh had sought a help from an NRI and the gram panchayat to go give the school a makeover.

“We have spent over Rs 9 lakh on the school. A lot of schools have come up with unique concepts of wall painting lately. I was motivated to work for my school for which I chose the pattern of train bogeys as a way to attract children. The children are thrilled every time to come to school now,” Jagtar Singh said.

Teachers here leave no chance to keep the students engrossed. “How does a train move?”, asked a teacher. “Chuk Chuk-Chuk Chuk,” replied students in a chorus.

Mostly, students belonging to the village have never travelled in a train. Karamjeet Kaur, a Class IV student, said, “I had never travelled in a train. We enjoy so much with friends at the school now.”

However, this is not the first time when classrooms were painted to look like rail coaches. Recently, classrooms of a Government High School in Wara Bhai Ka village in Faridkot district were also painted as rail coaches.