Classroom turns into pool, government school kids in Kannauj say ‘what an idea, Sirji’

LUCKNOW: When the mercury misery surged, a UP school principal dared to swim against the tide. Concerned over the sharp drop in attendance at his govt school in Kannauj because of the searing summer, Vaibhav Rajpoot (38) turned a classroom into a makeshift pool.
The pool was filled with cool underground water through a submersible pump. Since nobody wanted to miss out on the fun, the falling school attendance suddenly jumped from 38 to 65 students.
The novel experiment started with Rajpoot asking colleagues at their Model Primary School in Tirwa’s Mahsaunapur village to pool in ideas. With out-of-the-box thinking, they hit upon the plan. Curious villagers trooped to the school to watch the little ones make a big splash. The school has 143 students, 54 of them girls, in Classes 1 to 5.
“A week ago, I was giving tips to the students on staying safe in extreme heat when I mentioned a swimming pool. The students didn’t seem to know what a pool was. When I explained, some asked if they could have one, too. That got me thinking,” said Rajpoot.