‘Parked’ on a leafy campus, this Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus does not reserve seats for women, senior citizens, and the differently abled.
Instead, it has been dedicated to the ‘budhijeevis’, ‘swapnasancharis’ and ‘padippists’ of the Department of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (DCB) at the Kerala University’s Karyavattom campus.
Refurbished and customised for the needs of a classroom, the condemned bus that had been donated by the KSRTC is ready to present the postgraduate students of DCB with a novel learning experience.
Transport Minister Antony Raju will formally dedicate the bus at a function to be held on the campus on Friday. KSRTC chairman and managing director Biju Prabhakar and Syndicate members K. Gopchandran, S. Nazeeb, K.H. Babujan and R. Arunkumar will also participate.
40 students
While a few front rows have been modified to create space for the tutor, the ‘classroom’ has been designed to accommodate up to 40 students. A board has also been erected at the front. The bus, which has been erected on a metal frame, is also electrified to power fans and lights.
DCB head Achuthsankar S. Nair, who has been a strong advocate of creating ambient learning spaces, feels young people cannot be inspired in a cubicle space. “The change in environs have generated interest among students. Along with the ‘Haritha Rathnakaram’ eco-hut (a traditional hut with thatched roof) established nearby, the department intends to use the facilities as occasional classrooms,” he said.
Peppy directives
Catchy instructions adorn the walls of the customised bus to add to the novelty. Some of them include Munvidhi purathidaruthu (Don’t let your prejudice out) and Aa chodyam chodikaathe ee aanavandiyil irikkunathu shiksharham (sitting in the bus without raising questions is a punishable offence).
The department also hopes to conduct its next informal tutorial on Python programming language in the bus. This time, the course will be named Aanavandiyil perumpaambu (A python in the bus), Prof. Nair said.
