With a Kendriya Vidyalaya being sanctioned to Udupi, the district administration now plans to start its operation by the end of June.
Initially, the school will have classes from 1 to 5 and it will be located in the building of the present Vadabhandeshwara Government High School (VGHS) in Malpe for the next three years. Classes 8 to 10 of VGHS will be shifted to the nearby Gandhi Shatabdi Higher Primary School (GSHPS).
VGHS has 13 rooms along with water and toilet facilities on two acres of land and this is enough to take care of the needs of the Kendriya Vidyalaya at present. The new building of the Kendriya Vidyalaya will be built on 10 acres of land at Alevoor. Diwaker Shetty, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, said that that in the initial stages, teachers from the Kendriya Vidyalaya from Mangaluru could be appointed on deputation to the vidyalaya in Malpe. If necessary, the Vidyalaya Sanghatan Committee headed by Udupi Deputy Commissioner can also appoint teachers on temporary basis. “Our plan is to start admissions for the Kendriya Vidyalaya by June 20,” he said.
But the plan to start the school at VGHS is not without its problems. A teacher at VGHS said that the GSHPS was expected to provide five rooms. “If the VGHS moved to the GSHPS, there will be no lab for the high school students. Besides, providing mid-day meals for the high school students will be difficult,” he said.
However, the Department of Public Instruction has allayed these fears. “The Science Block comprising the lab at VGHS could still be used by the students. We will discuss all other matters with the teachers, School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) and elected representatives and solve them,” Mr. Shetty said.
Deputy Commissioner R. Vishal said that 25 per cent of seats would be reserved for children of local people living in a five-kilometre radius of the school under the RTE Act. “Hence, the vidyalaya will be of immense benefit to local children. Hopefully, the vidyalaya should be operating by the end of this month,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SDMC of VGHS, which earlier opposed the Kendriya Vidyalaya, is now divided on it. Prashanth Amin, Vice President of SDMC, said: "It is good that Udupi is at last getting a Kendriya Vidyalaya. It will help local students. Hence, everyone should support it."
