When Kerala’s schools reopen on June 1 for Praveshanolsavam (the traditional school reopening festival), one school in Kozhode’s Kodiyathur panchayat is set to give students a truly unique welcome gift: fresh Vietnamese jackfruit grown right on its own campus. At Pannicode UP School, the start of the new academic year has beautifully coincided with the first successful harvest from a Vietnamese jackfruit tree that was planted eight years ago as part of a biodiversity initiative. The fruits, carefully nurtured over the years by students and teachers alike, will now be shared with the very children who helped care for the tree.
Praveshanolsavam is Kerala’s statewide celebration marking the reopening of schools after summer vacation. On June 1, 2026, Chief Minister V D Satheesan will officially inaugurate the state-level event at the Government Model Girls Higher Secondary School in Pattam, Thiruvananthapuram, with the General Education Minister and other dignitaries present. Across the state, approximately 36 lakh students are returning to school, with around 3 lakh children entering Class 1 for the first time. While most schools will celebrate with traditional ceremonies, Pannicode UP School’s jackfruit harvest adds a special, homegrown twist to the festivities. School authorities say the idea is both a celebration of the harvest and a reminder of the value of environmental stewardship.
The tree traces its origins to 2018, when the school launched a biodiversity park under the leadership of then-headteacher Kusumam Thomas in connection with World Environment Day. Teachers, students, and parents joined the effort, planting a variety of saplings across the campus. PTA president Basheer, who also held the post when the project began, explained the vision behind the biodiversity park. He said it wasn’t just the jackfruit tree, as they planted mango trees, vegetables, tulsi plants and several other species. Everyone contributed saplings, either from nurseries or from their own homes. The biodiversity park was envisioned as a space where children could actively participate in caring for nature. This aligns with Kerala Forest Department’s Vidhya Vanam mission, which aims to establish miniature forests within schools to educate students about ecological and biological values through active participation.
While the tree produced only a few fruits last year that did not mature properly, this year’s harvest exceeded expectations. Nearly 40 jackfruits have grown on the tree, and school authorities have harvested 11 fruits for ripening and distribution during Praveshanolsavam. According to school manager Kesavan Namboodiri, the particular Vietnamese jackfruit variety was introduced to the campus through a sapling brought from a teacher’s home. Over the years, it became one of the many plants maintained by the school community. He said that now that the tree has begun bearing fruit properly, they felt it would be meaningful to share the harvest with the children since they have been taking care of these plants along with the teachers. Interestingly, the school authorities themselves are yet to taste the fruit, as they are waiting for June 1 to know exactly how sweet it is.
The Vietnamese jackfruit is rich in vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals. Jackfruit seeds may help reduce LDL cholesterol, and raw jackfruit helps in type 2 diabetes management. It is rich in antioxidants essential for a healthy immune system and contains anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. It also helps treat constipation and improves digestive function. The fruit is rich in vitamin A, which improves eyesight, vitamin C, which strengthens immunity, and minerals like iron, manganese, and magnesium.
This story represents something much bigger than just a fruit harvest. It is about embedding environmental education into everyday school life. Kerala has been actively promoting biodiversity parks in government schools since 2017, with 76 schools in Ernakulam district alone receiving Rs 25,000 each to establish such parks. Schools are expected to plant trees, bushes, flowering plants, and medicinal plants, creating garden showcases of biodiversity that augment the environmental studies syllabus. Environmentalists have praised such initiatives, saying that the decision to encourage schools to establish biodiversity gardens will go a long way to reintroduce these plants and trees to children. The Vidhya Vanam programme’s overall aim is to inculcate in future leaders of the country love for forests and nature by creating miniature forest patches in school and college premises through high-density planting of indigenous species with active student participation.
Read more at: https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2026/05/30/kozhikode-pannicode-up-school-vietnamese-jackfruit-reopening-day.html