At a time when the school should be celebrating the silver jubilee of its existence, the Panchayat Union Primary School at Maravetti in Kadaladi union has remained closed for days. For, it has no student on its roll.
The school, which was inaugurated in July 1997, had two students last year. However, after both of them passed out of class 5, the school was left with only two teachers, who found it difficult to while away time without any student.
"Even those two teachers have left the school last week, after getting written consent from the village to close down the school," said a village elder, M. Ayyavu, 85.
The school was left with no student this year as many of the residents of Maravetti had migrated to nearby Mudukulathur.
The teachers held two rounds of meetings with the local people seeking their cooperation in sending their children to the Maravetti school. However, since most of them had migrated to Mudukulathur, they could not get even a single student.
President of Kandilan panchayat M. Manimegalai said she was not aware of the teachers leaving the school. "I have no knowledge of the teachers securing the consent from the local people for their transfer to another school. However, it is a fact that the school could not get students from the local village.".
Stating that many men from the village had gone abroad for work and they had left the small village to a better place after they constructed houses in Mudukulathur.
"The children were studying only in Government schools in Mudukulathur and it would not be possible to bring the children back to the Maravetti school anymore," she said.
Ms. Manimegalai said a decision to make use of the school buildings and ground would be taken after discussion at the Grama Sabha meeting to be held on August 15.
