The increasing number of private English medium schools in the district has threatened the very existence of government schools as the State government has decided to close down 127 primary schools where the student enrolment was below 20.
The downward trend in admissions into the government schools started since the inception of KGBV, model schools and the TS social welfare residential schools. Parents prefer sending their children to private schools where the medium of instruction is English or the KGBV, model schools or residential schools, over sending them to the government or ZP schools.
The survey conducted by the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) found that 127 primary schools, including seven upper primary schools, would be closed down this academic year due to the enrolment of less than 20 students. The students currently studying in these schools would be sent to the adjoining schools while Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan (SSA) would provide transportation charge of ₹300 per month for each student.
Also, the teachers in the schools that would be closed down would teach in other schools. In the last academic year, the district authorities closed down about 16 schools and this year, the number has gone up to 127.
Facilities inadequate
Teachers complain that the facilities available in the government schools were inadequate considering the growing aspirations of both parents and students.
The Telangana Rashtra Teachers’ Federation (TRTF) district president, M. Prathap Reddy, found fault with the State government for closing down the schools on the pretext of low enrolment level. He feared that the decision would increase the number of dropouts in villages. The government’s plan to provide transportation charges to students would not yield any result, he said.
