At class: This year, students of Janta High in Bero scored 100 per cent success in Class X board exams. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, June 21: It’s a school without a roof. It’s been like this for over 12 years. And to coax students not to drop out, teachers tell them they are following what Tagore advocated: holding classes in the open, close to nature.

Not all 575 students of the government-run Janta High School buy the idea, but they don’t allow that to affect their academics. This year, it registered 100 per cent success in the Class X board examinations.

And last year, the school registered 99.7 per cent success.

Now, finally recognition has come its way — 50km from Ranchi, Janta High School in Dighia, Bero, has been selected as a model school and will soon have its own library and laboratory.

What’s more, Janta High will not be without a school building for long. After a long and gruelling struggle, a building is been readied thanks to the efforts of HRD minister Bandhu Tirkey.

But the going hasn’t been easy for Janta High. Principal Mary Priscilla, who was recently felicitated for the school’s outstanding performance, told The Telegraph about the difficulties of running an open-air school.

“In extreme weather conditions students get annoyed. But we coax them by saying that studying outside conventional classrooms was an idea introduced by Rabindranath Tagore. Younger students believe us, but the seniors understand we don’t have any classrooms.”

Seventy-seven students appeared for the Jharkhand Academic Council examinations and topper Pratima Khesh got 76.2 per cent. Among the 17 who got first division, 13 were girls.

“While my brother went to school everyday I stayed at home to help with housework. After repeated protests they reluctantly agreed to send me to school,” said Reena Kumari who went on to do her parents and school proud.

“It all changed in the matric exams when I scored more marks than my brother,” said the girl, among the 13 who got a first division. “Now, they want me to go to a college and study further.”

For the students of Janta High, mostly from families struggling to make ends meet, coming to school to attend classes is in itself a huge achievement. They often miss classes when they are forced to do their bit to support their families.

Surendra Mahto of Class X missed classes for a fortnight when he worked in an NREGA project. But being a part of the UPA government’s flagship job scheme didn’t help as he is yet to be paid.

His classmate Vincent Kachchap works in the fields during harvesting time. “My sister and I are in the same class. So we share our books,” said the man of the house, who is taking care of his family — mother, two sisters, a younger brother — ever since he lost his father when he was 13.

No wonder hardships mean nothing to Janta High’s boys and girls. Even if that meant doing away with a roof above their head at school. In fact, Janta High did have a building of its own. But it was so run down, students and teachers were forced to evacuate it in 1996. Ever since, classes are being held in the open.

This year, things will change with the new building. To be inaugurated for the 2008-09 academic session, it has four classrooms. Around 70 to 80 students would be accommodated in each classroom. But that’s not enough. At present, the school has 575 students in classes VII to X.

Priscilla, who has been associated with the school since 1997, became principal in December 2006. She teaches history and mathematics. Since there are only four teachers, they all teach more than one subject.

Dashrath Bhagat, who teaches Sanskrit and Hindi, has been with the school since 1995. “I have seen so many students graduate from here under such adverse conditions to go on to become SDOs, doctors and engineers,” he recalled.

“I have developed a bond with this school and don’t feel like going anywhere else now,” Bhagat added.

So strong is this attachment that teachers are always willing to help those in need. This year, five students couldn’t afford board examination fees. “The school and teachers contributed and paid the fees,” said Shambhunath Shahi, who has been teaching science since 1999.

Teachers agree that times have changed and parents were now more willing to send their children to school. And Janta High has proved that schools don’t need state-of-the-art infrastructure to achieve good results.

But a little more help is always welcome. It can go a long way to help its students to do much better.