Mysore schools hold convocation for KG students

MYSORE: When little Akash P trotted up to the dais wearing a red graduation gown and a scholar’s cap to receive his graduation certificate, it was a proud moment for his parents. Naturally, he was just five years old. His mother Roopa Pradeep couldn’t contain her joy or excitement: `"My son graduated from UKG to Class I. It was a wonderful moment,’’ she said.
Of late, some schools have started graduation ceremony for kindergarten students. This trend started some years ago in Bangalore but now slowly catching up in Mysore. At the city’s Supreme Public School, the graduation event started two years ago. About 60 tots attending nursery (pre-KG, LKG and UKG) class at the school received their graduation certificates recently. All dressed in red gown, they received their marks sheet and certificate of graduation to next class. And Akash was one of them.
School principal Jagadish L said “this is one way of encouraging children towards attending school. It becomes an inspiration for them.”
The other reasons for organizing graduation day at school include making children understand the meaning of celebrations and to make them proud of their learning in school, he added.
While some opine that these ceremonies are not necessary, for constable Manjula whose daughter Dhruthi P graduated to Class I, the ceremony was not unnecessary. “My daughter was happy about the gown and receiving the certificate and so was I,” Manjula said.
Stating that the trend is a method to get money from parents and attract parents towards the school, educationist and former VC of Kuvempu University P Venkataramaiah said: ``It brings too much of consciousness and responsibility among children. If it is done for every class then it is meaningless.”