Irrespective of their religious faith, 25 children including 18 girls from a Dalit colony of Seetanapalli village of Kaikaluru mandal in Krishna district visit the local church every morning and stay there till evening.
It has been the routine since the past two academic years for these children enrolled in the MPP primary school here.
For them, the church is not merely an abode of god. It is a temple of learning.
Prior to 2016, the State government established the MPP school here after it was closed by a Christian missionary (CBCNC). Until 2016 it was a State-aided primary school run by the missionary. “The classes are conducted outside the local church in the event of wedding or special prayers. The school documents including attendance register are kept in a room designated as ‘bridegroom room’. The equipment including utensils meant for the mid-day meal scheme and school infrastructure is kept in the ‘bride room’,” explained MPP School teacher V. Srinivasa Rao.
The school has two teachers — Mr. Srinivaa Rao and G. Chandra Mohan. Kaikaluru Mandal Education Officer D. Rama Rao says, “The Grama Sabha [Panchayat] has handed over seven cents at Seetanapalli village to the government for construction of the school building two years ago but the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) authorities are yet to sanction fund.” The SSA is a Central government scheme that creates school infrastructure including buildings in the schools.
Scarcity of funds
“Lack of funds is the immediate reason blocking permanent building for the Seetanapalli school,” Krishna district SSA Project Officer K.D.V.M. Prasad Babu told The Hindu .
Ironically, Mr. Babu had confessed that he had no idea about the proposal tabled before him for sanction of funds for the school.
