Teacher creates edu park to creatively engage students

Strap: Spends summer vacation on campus for 3 yrs to improve infra

No. of students up from 30 to 237 in 3 yrs

* A state awardee, Rajinder Singh was the lone teacher at the Government Primary School in Kothe Inder Singhwala village in the school three years ago

* From just 30 students, the school strength has now risen to 237 with students from 14 villages joining the school

Sameer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 18

When everyone is on summer vacation, Rajinder Singh of Government Primary School in Kothe Inder Singhwala village of the district is busy lending finishing touches to a “Bhakhra dam” model he built as part of an educational park he has been working on for the past one month.

This is the third year in a row when Rajinder, inspired by the idea of providing quality education to government school students in the village, has spent his summer vacation in the school.

Apart from making wall paintings, science and math models, smart classrooms and digital library, he has been making creatively engaging content to educate students. He is also working on a recreation park comprising swings and other joyrides and a nursery full of vegetables and flowers to beautify the campus.

He has named the educational park after first female teacher Savitribai Phule and dedicated the nursery to ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam.

A state awardee, Rajinder was the lone teacher in the school that had just 30 students three years ago. Now, the strength has risen to 237 with students from 14 villages.

“Around 80 per cent of students have come from private schools. After observing academic performance and the quality of education we impart here, parents from surrounding villages pulled their wards out of private schools and got them admitted here. Besides help from NRIs and grants from government, I spend money from my pocket to improve the infrastructure,” he said.