Village schoolteacher to get national award

School teacher R. Gopinathan is among the two teachers from the State selected for the award.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

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Retired headmistress R. Banumathi watches her son performing puppetry at her house in Gudiyatham town near Vellore. She corrects him and asks him to repeat it a few more times before she winds up the session for the day. 

Next morning, he performs it before his students of class I-III at the Panchayat Union Middle School in Rajakuppam village, 7 km from Gudiyatham, where he has been teaching science, mathematics and language since 2009 when he joined the school.

Be it about environmental protection, farming, short stories, students listen keenly to the dolls. Chalk and black boards have become a thing of the past since puppetry took over the job.

R. Gopinathan, 42, the son and teacher, has been selected for the National Teacher Award for the year 2024. He was among the two teachers from Tamil Nadu selected for the award. R.S. Muralidharan of TV Sundaram Higher Secondary School in Madurai was the other recipient. “My parents, who retired as HMs, motivated me to take up puppetry and street plays to teach students. It helps us to teach rural students easily in a creative way,” said Mr. Gopinathan, a father of two daughters.

A native of Seruvangi village near Gudiyatham, Mr. Gopinathan did his schooling at government schools in the town. He completed his B.Ed in 2001. A science graduate, he was fond of drawing that drew him to the art of puppetry. He uses 12 different types of puppetry including finger, shadow, string, stick, skin and glow puppets for teaching. His expedition with puppetry began in 2016 when the State government encouraged schoolteachers to take classes through puppetry.

His teaching style was not restricted to puppetry. He has been adept at street-play since his college days. As a teacher, he played the role of famous personalities and saints like Thiruvalluvar, Avvaiyar and Raja Raja Cholan. He is also an active member of a local troupe. Being a part of the troupe has helped him to dress up; borrow costumes and wigs for the role he plays before students as part of his teaching methods.

“When I dressed up as Avvaiyar to explain about the Tamil poet to my students, I shaved my moustache for the role. I have also donned several roles to perform at school awareness programmes in Vellore,” he said.

Over the years, incorporating the artforms in teaching has steadily increased the enrolment of students in the school. At present, the school has around 120 students, including 50 girls, who are mostly from remote hamlets.