In Kerala, three government school teachers have set an example by turning their savings from a free travel scheme into meals for plantation workers’ children. Nimisha, Jayasree Devan and Shalu Paulose, who serve at Ponmudi Government Upper Primary School in Thiruvananthapuram district, started saving money through the government’s Priyadarshini free travel scheme and used it to provide food to students after financial difficulties faced by sponsors disrupted the school’s evening meal programme.

Appreciating their efforts, Transport Minister C P John on Saturday invited the teachers and students to his official residence and felicitated them. He described their initiative as an inspiring example of social responsibility and compassion, according to an official statement.

The evening meal programme

The school introduced the evening meal programme three years ago, considering that parents working in the plantation sector in the hill station return home late after work. Initially, sponsors supported the initiative. However, when financial difficulties led them to withdraw their support, the scheme faced the risk of closure, and children who depended on the evening meal were left uncertain.

That is when the three teachers stepped in. They continue to contribute from their own resources to ensure that the children, and in some cases their family members, do not go to bed hungry, the official statement said.

The scheme behind the savings

Introduced by the state government, the Priyadarshini scheme allows women to travel free of cost in Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ordinary services. The teachers channelled the money they would otherwise have spent on commuting into the school’s meal fund, converting a personal benefit into a collective one for the plantation community’s children.

What the teachers asked for

The teachers also requested an additional KSRTC bus service on the route during school hours, which the minister said he would consider, as per the statement. For now, their gesture has kept the evening meal programme running and brought attention to the quiet ways in which educators often fill gaps left by funding shortfalls.