Mangaluru: Govt Higher Primary School, Thodikana, in Sullia taluk, which began as a visionary initiative by village elders to ensure rural children were not deprived of education, is set to mark its 75th anniversary with grand Amrit Mahotsav festivities. Senior alumni and villagers joined hands under the leadership of the jubilee committee for the celebrations on Jan 22.Seventy-five years ago, Thodikana was a hamlet nestled amid dense forests, with just a handful of houses and dirt tracks leading to Seeme Devasthana and Mallikarjuna Temple. Children trekked to Aranthodu or distant Sullia for schooling, an ordeal without modern transport. Realising the hardship, local elders decided to start a school there. The school, 18km from Sullia town, has 78 children studying from classes 1 to 7.Arun Kumar M, head of the school, said the institution started through the efforts of elders, and classes began in 1948 at the Jogipur building of Mallikarjuna Temple, with Chennappa Master from Chendadka as the first teacher. It was officially taken over by the govt in 1950 as a Lower Primary School (classes 1-5), with its own building and Sheshappa Master from Aranthodu as headteacher, who walked long distances daily to teach. As the institution grew, it needed more land, and Hoovayya Gowda Kuttamotte donated 2.4 acres to the school.Currently, with 78 children, the campus boasts ample classrooms, a kitchen, an auditorium, a playground, washrooms, special needs facilities, a garden, a smart room, and areca-coconut groves. “The current requirement is a computer lab to impart modern education,” he said.As part of the Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, several development works have taken place. These included an auditorium built from local MLA funds, gram panchayat funding for interlock, parent Nagaraj Chambadi’s sponsorship for creating a football ground, the old students’ association’s band set, and the handover of a coconut-climbing machine, among others.
