Turning stones into schools: A teacher’s mission in Malkangiri | Fusion - WeRIndia

In Kondel village of Odisha’s Malkangiri district, the Government UP School is redefining education.

Here, learning extends far beyond books and blackboards. Children learn numbers from tree trunks and Odia alphabets from stones.

The driving force behind this transformation is Basanta Kumar Rana, a dedicated educator with over 30 years of service in Odisha’s government schools.

With over 30 years of teaching experience across seven government schools, Rana has spent the last three years transforming Kondel UP School into a vibrant, interactive learning space.

His focus lies on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), especially in pre-primary and primary grades.

He strongly believes that if children enjoy learning at an early age, they won’t fear education and are less likely to drop out.

The 54-year-old, who is set to receive the National Teachers’ Award-2025 for his exceptional work in FLN, said that his priority is to make learning joyful.

True to his belief, Rana has turned the entire school campus into a classroom. Tree stumps, stones, school walls, and planters all serve as teaching-learning materials.

He has painted word and number games in both English and Odia across the campus, creating a joyful learning environment.

The impact is visible. Children arrive early to play and learn. Inside the classrooms, rows of toys and learning aids capture their attention.

Rana also uses puppetry, including shadow, glove, and stick puppets that he makes himself, to teach complex topics in a fun, engaging way.

Through this toy-based pedagogy, children learn through play first, then practice in their notebooks.

His methods have not only made learning fun but also increased enrolment and brought dropout children back to school. When Rana joined, the school had only 86 students. Today, it has grown to 148.

Rana’s work proves that effective education doesn’t require big budgets, just passion and creativity.

By turning every element of the school into a learning tool, he has created a model that is low-cost, replicable, and deeply impactful.

His approach is a powerful reminder that joyful learning is the strongest foundation for a lifelong education.

Image Credit: RamBiswal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malkangiri_Dam.jpg