26 November,2010 07:09 AM IST | | Vedika Chaubey
School's primary divisions named after 26/11 martyrs; children and parents take to the idea
"It's a small way of paying my tribute to these national heroes," said Rajender Sodhi, principal of St Soldier Public School, about his unique concept of naming the school's primary divisions after the 26/11 martyrs.
The Bhayander-based school has its divisions of nursery, upper and lower kindergartens named after Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte and Sandeep Unnikrishnan.
The tinytots in the Junior KG division of Soldier High School in Bhayander, which is named after 26/11 martyr Ashok Kamte
Sodhi says that the response to this from both parents and students have been very positive. "During the parents meeting, the school is praised for doing such things.
The big plus obviously has been the increased awareness among the students about these brave personalities. Parents come and tell us that their children want to know more about them," he added.
Each of these classroom doors has the name of a martyr with a small background about him. According to what divisions they belong to, the students are taught in detail about that personality and even tested.
In fact all students from nursery to Std X are tested through essays on the 26/11 heroes as well as other past war heroes.
Good response
Sumita Tibrewala's daughter Manasvi is in the Kamte division. "The name Kamte is stuck in her head as she has to repeat it all the time. She questions me about the name.
It feels good that schools are taking such initiatives," said Tibrewala. She added that although she initially had reservations about the idea, she later came around to realise that it was actually good for kids to be aware of.
When this reporter visited a classroom and asked the students what their division was called, the students replied in unison, "Kamte division."
Besides children, a few parents have also benefited from the concept.
Minakshee Wagh, whose six-year-old daughter Dhruvi is in the Karkare division, said, "It feels good that now I am obliged to read more and be aware so that I can answer my kid's questions."
H S Sodhi, chairman of the school, served in the army for 30 years and has been running the school for the last 20 years. "School is the basic foundation to make better soldiers.
By naming the divisions after these brave soldiers, we are hoping that the students will always remember their sacrifices for the nation," he said.
On the second anniversary of the terror attacks, the students will remember the martyrs in the morning
prayer and there will be two minutes of silence in their memory.
