Muzaffarnagar: Wearing a red-checked shirt and a pair of brown trousers, Mohammad Sufiyan, a Class II student at the government primary school in Titawi village of Muzaffarnagar, reads aloud a poem in English to the class of 40. Sufiyan, like many others in his class, is proficient in English and knows his current affairs well. The only school in Muzaffarnagar district to have a biometric attendance system for teachers and staff in place, the Titawi primary school is the talk of the town, even among most coveted private schools in nearby cities.From six CCTV cameras in its premises, clean toilets and solar panels providing 24-hour electricity supply, this school of more than 200 students and six teachers has it all.Turns hereWhile most government school principals rue shortage of funds, its principal, Akhlaq Ahmad, has earned quite a reputation among district administration officials for extracting every single paisa of available government schemes for the school. He also seeks donations from local residents, leading the pack by donating his own family zakat (religious donation) for the school’s welfare.Ahmad was transferred to Titawi in 2013 as a principal and since then has been relentless in his efforts to develop the school. He even maintains a Facebook page for it. Every morning, after the prayers, Ahmad sits down with his students and discusses current affairs.“Running the school opposite a private English medium one was not easy. Students suffered from lack of confidence. We had to take our education standards higher and developed a state-of-the-art e-classroom. We also fitted a biometric attendance system for teachers and other staff. Around 62 students have come to study here from private schools in the past two years,” said Ahmad.“My son, Sameer Hasan, was a student of SDS Public School earlier. But when I visited the Titawi primary school, I decided to shift him here. Now, my five-year-old daughter, Shaikha Hasan, also studies here,” said Mukeem Hasan, a local resident.“It is wonderful to see how the Titawi primary school has changed over the years and we are willing to help it in whatever way possible,” said G S Priyadarshi, district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar.“I feel proud when I hear people talking about this school in our village. Parents from far off places come to get their children admitted here," said Rajbal Singh, pradhan of Titawi village.“We try to give our best to the students here. I joined Titawi primary school in 2009 and have seen the changes that this school has undergone in the past four years,” said Bhawna Malik, a teacher at the school.C P Yadav, basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) of Muzaffarnagar, said, “We are proud to have such a school in the area which is giving tough competition to the best of private schools in the district. In fact, it has more facilities than many convent schools in the region. We will soon install biometric attendance systems in other government schools too.”

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