School on wheels: Gujarat converts scrap buses into smart classrooms for salt workers’ children

The Gujarat government has launched 28 buses that will operate as 'schools on wheels' in remote parts of the Little Rann of Kutch to reach the children of Agariya salt workers who move from place to place with the seasons. The initiative aims for the education of these children to continue without interruption.

The buses, named 'Ranshala', were flagged off from Gandhinagar on Tuesday by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi under the state government's 'Shala Praveshotsav' campaign. Under the initiative, 28 old Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) buses have been converted into fully equipped mobile classrooms with solar power, smart TVs, digital learning tools and other facilities.

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The project is a joint initiative of the Education Department's Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the GSRTC. It is meant to connect children aged six to 14 from salt-making families, known in Gujarat as Agariyas, with education.

Speaking to ANI, Sanghavi said, "Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is inaugurating the 23rd Shala Praveshotsav at BN High School in Vadnagar. Under a very unique initiative, the Gujarat State Transport Department has converted buses that were earlier lying unused and in scrap-like condition into mobile classrooms. These buses are for the children of families living in remote Agariya areas. Adopting the 'waste to best' concept, these buses have today been handed over to the Education Department."

Why the change?

Every year after the monsoon ends, Agariyas move to the desert in the Little Rann of Kutch for eight months. There, they prepare salt pans and live nearby in temporary huts and tents during the period. The state has used idle transport corporation buses in this initiative and turned them into functional classrooms for children living in these remote desert areas.

The buses have been fitted with a 43-inch smart TV, Dish TV connectivity for educational channels, FM radio, a digital clock, special learning aids, an LED lighting system, wall-mounted fans, portable study tables, flexible seating arrangements and a foldable outdoor shade net to expand classroom space outside the bus. They also include a clean drinking water system, a washbasin, a special water storage tank, a separate cabin for teachers and space for an in-built library.

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Each bus has a 3.8 KVA off-grid solar power plant, allowing it to function for up to 48 hours without an electricity connection. The buses will also have a digital weighing machine, a height measurement system and a BMI chart to monitor children, along with some entertainment facilities.

Through 'Ranshala: School on Wheels', the Gujarat government has sought to keep the education of Agariya children going while they live and work in the remote salt desert areas of the Little Rann of Kutch.