Beyond the classroom

For several years, Chunghar Government Primary School in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar had been facing a common problem; students routinely lost their belongings, books and stationary.

To overcome the problem, the teachers came up with an idea last year. They built a “Lost and Found Box” and placed it at a corner of the school compound.

The teachers encouraged children to put whatever they find at school in the box. They also informed parents about the initiative and requested them to motivate their children to follow it.

“The idea worked like magic,” said school headmaster Zainal Abedin, adding that they got the result immediately.

“Most importantly it helped them learn honesty and morality outside the class,” he said.

The school has been displaying some of its innovative ideas, which helped it receive government recognition as best primary school in 2016, at a two-day fair in Dhaka.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education arranged the “Innovation Fair and Showcasing-2018” at the Department of Primary Education (DPE) yesterday.

Some 25 stalls have been set up at the fair where primary school teachers and district and divisional-level DPE officials from seven divisions have been showcasing outcomes of their innovations, said Sharif-ul-Islam, an education officer at DPE.

He said some participants will be recognised for their contribution with crests and certificates at the concluding ceremony.

Inaugurating the fair, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mustafizur Rahman urged primary school teachers and DPE officials to ensure quality education.

He also underscored the necessity of constructing roads leading to schools so that children can travel to school smoothly.

Like Chunghar school's “Lost and Found Box”, Arpara Model Government Primary School in Shalikha upazila of Magura has been implementing an innovative idea called “Abhibhabak Ananda Pathagar” since July 2016.

Dipankar Biswas, a teacher of the school, said they give children's books to the mothers who wait at the school compound during school hours. The mothers read the books there, and after getting back home, they narrate the stories to their children like tales, he said.

“This makes children enthusiastic about listening to their mothers,” he said, adding that their school received the best primary school recognition in 2017.

Some other innovations at the fair include “honesty shop” (where students pay to the cashbox without a shopkeeper overseeing), “smiley” (a card awarded to students for every good deed), “colourful school” (which is painted in different colours to attract children), “uchcharan” (through which students are taught correct pronunciation of Bangla words outside the class), “karmabir” (a student who leads a team and completes an assigned task successfully), and “class party” (where students orally present a subject in front of guardians).