Over 90 students from a remote tribal welfare residential school in Suryapet district might end up as drop-outs, owing to blinkered enforcement of the rule book by authorities.
Worse is the fact that the hamlet is inhabited by the displaced people from the Nagarjunasagar project, constituting migrant population.
The school serves children from the hamlets Gurrambode Tanda and Krishna Tanda in Mattampally mandal.
Run as co-education English medium school with classes I to VII for years, the school has recently received orders from the Tribal Welfare Commissionerate to shift the girl boarders as well as students of classes I and II to other schools in the vicinity.
Order
The order had as its basis, the rule that the tribal welfare residential schools should be run only from Classes III to X, as students of Classes I and II would be too young to take care of themselves, and need parents.
The orders for shifting of the girl students came a year ago, after certain incidents were reported from elsewhere, and it was decided to scrap co-education concept among tribal welfare residential schools. This is going to affect a total of 91 students, 39 from Classes I and II and 52 girl students from Classes III to VI.
“We had stopped taking children into Classes I and II 10 years ago, as there was a Mandal Parishath primary school nearby. But two years ago, the school was closed down in rationalisation, and children were being admitted in private schools for English medium education,” related B.Venkateshwarlu, the head master of the school.
Collector petitioned
This year, the school’s strength dropped to 41, when Mr.Venkateshwarlu, along with a few social workers, approached the district Collector and requested him permission to run Classes I & II. It was readily granted, and after many efforts to convince the parents, the strength grew to 274.
“Last year, when co-education was scrapped, four rehabilitation hamlets, three in Chandampet mandal and one in P.A. Pally mandal got special permission to admit girls, and run Classes I and II as a special case. We too thought we could get permission along the same lines,” Mr. Venkateshwarlu said.
When they approached the Commissioner, Tribal Welfare, with this request, he sent the Deputy Director (Education), and Deputy Director (Admin) to assess the situation.
“Both the officials were erroneously informed that the primary school which was shut down, was functional. Based on their report, the children were ordered to be shifted,” shared Harinder Nandyala, a social activist.
‘Breaking siblings’
For girls of Gurrambode Tanda, the nearest school with Telugu medium education is 50 to 60 kilometres away. After Class VI, they will have to take admission in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya located 25 kilometres away.
“Parents would be unwilling to send girls so far. Besides, it is customary to send siblings in pairs, and breaking the siblings could result in high number of drop-outs,” Mr.Harinder says.
Majority of the parents migrate to other districts in search of work, and the children will be forced to drop out if there is no boarding facility, he feels.
Mr.Venkateshwarlu hopes permission would be granted for one year, so that the girls can finish the year, and get admission elsewhere next year. Ironically, the four schools for which special permission was granted last year, were also asked to shift the children, but after completion of the year.
