As many as 118 schools in Krishna district were shut down and their strength attached to the nearest schools after recording the lowest student strength.
Most of the schools which were shut down from the current academic year are primary schools.
There was an instance in which the education department official had to stage a sit-in in front of children’s house appealing their parents to send their siblings to the government school. “Unexpected low strength of students was recorded in the selected 118 schools, whose students have to be attached to the nearest schools so that they can be maintained,” said Krishna District Education Officer D. Devananda Reddy.
Timely decision
The timely decision was reportedly taken in order to not to lose the existing strength.
The education department has also promised a monthly scholarship, which is otherwise called as transportation package, to the students in government schooling. “Monthly scholarship of Rs.300 will be released to the students who are attending a school that is a minimum one kilometre away from their village,” said Mr. Devananda Reddy.
The students who even take a walk of one kilometre to reach their school will also be granted the scholarship from the current academic year. “Failure of government schooling is an alarming situation. Children from Below Poverty Line families are most likely to be deprived of their right to education in coming years,” said a senior education department official who does not wish to mention his name.
The glaring fact is that more than 6oo school dropouts are yet to be brought back to the school in the State’s education hub, Krishna district, by early June. With seasonal migration of thousands of families being invisible in the district, the authorities concerned have come up with promising education and care to the children of migrant families. A maximum of 1,500 children from the migrant families are likely to be admitted into seasonal hostels during 2013-14 academic year.
