The government schools in Coimbatore district witnessed a drop in enrolment for the academic year 2022-23 compared to last year, even as the overall number of students joining schools has gone up by over 6,200.
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According to the data shared by the District School Education Department, as on November 8, a total of 6,21,537 students enrolled in this academic year, of which 1,82,764 joined 1,209 government schools. In the academic year 2021-22, of the 6,15,289 enrolled students, 1,91,972 joined 1,208 government schools in the district.
Meanwhile, 3,66,342 students joined private schools this academic year, compared to 3,48,551 last year.
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Sources at the Department said that since the lockdown has been lifted, many are going back to private schools. “Many parents and guardians were unable to pay fees in private schools and so they shifted their children to government schools. But, with the return of normalcy, financially-stable parents are sending their kids to private schools,” sources added.
Federation of Tamil Nadu Students’ Parents Welfare Association President S Arumainathan said that owing to lack of enough infrastructure in government schools, the parents enrol their children in private schools.
“During the COVID-19-induced lockdown, private schools refused to issue books to students if fee was not paid. So, many, especially those under the 25 % reservation for economically weaker sections, shifted to government schools.
“Government school students are more confident than private school students during competitions and in several arenas. Yet, parents enroll their kids in private schools, since they consider it as a status symbol,” he said. He emphasised that steps to change this mindset must be taken by the government.
Private school authorities refused to comment.