Vijayawada: A schoolteacher’s relentless effort to make his pupils global citizens has brought an innovative English lab to Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Penumaka, in the Mangalagiri constituency. English teacher Patcharu Harikrishna, who was recently transferred to Penumaka ZP High School, envisioned setting up an advanced English language studio with the help of local support, similar to the one he operated at his previous school.Impressed with Harikrishna’s presentation, a local businessman, Jali Ramesh Babu—now settled in Abu Dhabi—came forward to fund the entire cost of the English lab. The setup includes a digital screen, laptop, loudspeakers, other equipment, and a library. He spent nearly ₹2 lakh to establish the studio, with permission from senior officials.Curiously, Harikrishna is already well known among students and parents in Bhattiprolu mandal. At Ilavaram ZPHS, where he worked for about eight years, he connected more than 6,000 students with global universities and scientists. Even scientists from NASA interacted with his students there, thanks to his efforts.“Children from rural areas who study in ZP high schools are always shy about speaking English. I wanted to make them champions of the English language with global exposure,” Harikrishna told TOI. He added that the support of senior officials, headmasters, parents, and locals helped him train children to speak English fluently.Students from Classes VI to X will be encouraged to attend as many language sessions as possible to hone their skills. After initially training the students himself, Harikrishna plans to bring in teachers from foreign universities and colleges for online sessions to boost students’ confidence and exposure.“We have conducted online classes with several top universities and colleges from over 30 countries, including the USA, Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, UAE, China, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. My students used to compete with each other to converse with the students and teachers from these institutions, despite difficulty in understanding the accent,” said Harikrishna.An Australian couple, Greg Christ and Dorothy, who have been mentoring government school students in learning English, will formally inaugurate the lab in Penumaka in the next fortnight. Christ, a technology teacher at Ignatius Park College in Melbourne (Australia), has helped Harikrishna establish collaborations with multiple universities and colleges for online interaction with students from remote villages in Andhra Pradesh.“We have about 610 students in our high school. Students will be enrolled in the language upskilling programme in a phased manner. The lab will enable children to interact with language experts from several foreign universities,” Harikrishna added.==Students from Penumaka ZP High School to connect with global universities soon through the English labEnglish teacher Patcharu Harikrishna has been relentlessly working for the language development of children in ZP High Schools, where most students come from underprivileged backgroundsStudents will gain global exposure through interactive sessions with teachers and students from foreign universities.The fear of speaking English will disappear once trained in our English lab, says Harikrishna.
