Seldom do you find students of a posh school cleaning and dusting their classrooms.

But, St Xavier's, Hazaribagh, has set an example for others in many ways.

Students clean their classrooms, campus and even the stretch of NH-100 on which the school is situated.

St Xavier's has also become the first cradle of the town to build a ramp, abiding by the CBSE guidelines.

Besides, the school also entered into an agreement with insurance company TATA AIG, according to which the company will pay Rs 1.10 lakh to a student whose father has died in an accident. This scheme started from 2015-16 session, to be renewed every year.

Father P.J. James, the principal, said these steps were taken to make the students responsible and address their concerns.

On the ramp, he added that though it was part of CBSE guidelines to either have a ramp or lift in schools, the facility would particularly help their two polio-affected children, one in high and the other in middle school.

Though Father James denied disclosing their names, he said the ramp, built at a cost of Rs 17 lakh in the main block and thrown open for use in October, was worth it to see their smiles. "Besides, the ramp can also be used during emergencies for fast evacuation of students," said the principal.

Regarding the students' involvement in keeping the school clean, Father James said they were involved in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan since inception.

"However, from mid-October we decided to make it compulsory for the children of Classes IV-XII to clean their classrooms and campus once or twice a week after school hours. The teachers oversee students," said Father James.

It seems to be having an impact. Class VI student Ayush Choudhary said he now understood the value of the work done by the school's cleaning staff. "Now I do not throw anything here and there but only in dustbin," he said.