Journalism students of Government Janatha Higher Secondary School, Naduvattam, publish their laboratory newspaper, Janatha Journal, during the Pattambi Lower School Art Festival in Koppam.
The four-day Pattambi Junior High School Art Festival concluded at the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Koppam, on Thursday. But what stole the show was the lab newspaper produced by journalism students of Government Janatha Higher Secondary School, Naduvattam.
During the three main days of the festival, they printed news and photos of the events, giving the celebration a unique real-time chronicle that sets it apart from other sub-district events in the state.
Janatha School Higher Secondary Journalism students have now produced the Janatha Journal for five consecutive years at the District Arts Festival.
Newspapers in tabloid format arrived at the festival grounds every day before noon, full of daily headlines and colorful photos. One thousand copies were distributed, providing students, teachers and parents with engaging reading and a lasting memory of the event.
The costs were covered by students through advertisements. They have published their articles in both English and Malayalam. All reporting and editing was done by students under the supervision of journalism teacher Byju KR. “It was a hands-on learning experience for the students,” Mr Byju said.
Since its launch at the 2019 Art Festival in Pattambi, Janatha Journal has gone from strength to strength. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the paper returned to Naduvattam in 2022, then Chundambatta in 2023 and Edappalam in 2024.
“About two dozen students helped produce the newspaper,” Mr. Byju said. Apart from regional art festival, Janata Journal also records all school events and publishes them as an e-paper.
The Janatha student initiative has won praise from the people, especially from General Education Minister V. Sivankutty.
Apart from the print edition, the Janata Journal team collects footage for their YouTube channel and keeps their Facebook and Instagram pages active. Ex-journalism students of the school also came to help their juniors during the art festival.
School Principal S. Jude Louis is the Editor-in-Chief and T. Krishna is the Student Editor. The publication is published under the banner of the school’s media club with the technical support of computer science teacher K. Sreekanth.
Published – 13 Nov 2025 20:01 IST
