This Kottayam school has its annual study tour to NASA

KOTTAYAM: Gone are the days of school educational tours to Ootty, Mysore or Chennai. Now, a school in Pala in Kottayam district will be conducting a study tour to the NASA in the US. It will be Chavara Public School, an institution run by CMI fathers, which will be conducting a 14-day tour to the US during the summer vacation of 2019. The school has already distributed circular regarding this to the parents.Among the tour itinerary, three days will be at the Kennedy Space Centre in Orlando. Other places which will be visited are Walt Disney’s Magical Kingdom, Universal Studios, Niagra Falls, Washington and New York. The approximate cost of the tour per head is Rs 3.20 lakhs. An additional Rs 30,000 will have to spend related to the US visa fees.
According to school Principal Fr Mathew Kareethara it was his wish to give such an exposure for children who could afford. "The student will get a chance to spend time with a real astronaut. He will lead a training programme for the student. Moreover, they can spend three days in the space centre," he said. On completion of the tour, students will be given a certificate from NASA.
There are a total of 60 seats for the tour which is open for students from classes 6-11. Since the tour is only next year, the parents are allowed to make the payments in monthly instalments starting from July 2018. The tour is conducted by a Mumbai-based tour operator.
According to Fr Kareethara, earlier some schools of the CMI group had attempted to conduct similar trips. But due to shortage of students, students from more than one school had to clubbed together to meet the required numbers to conduct the tour.
The deadline for registering for the trip is June 30. The school will proceed if there are sufficient number of students. The selected students and their parents will have orientation programmes before the trip. The school is planning to send two teachers along with the students.
Eby J Jose, a parent, said that it is a great opportunity for children to get an international exposure, though it is costly. However, the instalment payment system is good. "Children knows about NASA only through the Internet and books. This is a great chance,” he said.