Corpn. schools record rise in enrolment

Number of students in the schools touches 1,01,757, the highest in 10 years

A big draw: Door-to-door campaigns by school teachers and headmasters has paid dividends.

Schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation have seen a sharp rise in enrolment this year with the total number of students enrolled reaching the highest in 10 years.

According to officials, as of early this week, the total strength in the Corporation schools had touched 1,01,757. The last time the strength was above one lakh was in 2010-11. Since then, it declined over the years to 83,098 in 2019-20 before marginally rising again to 88,084 last year (2020-21).

Since admissions were opened in mid-June, the Corporation schools have seen 27,311 new enrolments so far. While 30% of these enrolments were students who had come from within Corporation schools, the remaining 70% had come from private and aided schools.

Acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent impact on household incomes could have been a key factor in pushing many parents to admit their wards into government-run schools, D. Sneha, Deputy Commissioner, Education, GCC, said that a number of steps taken by the civic body played a significant role in such a sharp increase.

She highlighted that the teachers and headmasters in the schools carried out door-to-door campaigns by identifying prospective students from feeder schools in every locality.

“We are focusing more on improving the infrastructure. Our teachers are being trained further in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools. When parents were explained about all the facilities and other advantages of studying in GCC schools, they were convinced,” she said.

P.K. Ilamaran, president, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association, who works in one of the Corporation schools, said that the door-to-door campaigns and spot admissions made a significant difference in increasing enrolment. Pointing out that there was a lot of focus from senior officials towards schools, he said, “Parents also see the news and feel that there is a lot of focus to improve government schools. Hence, they feel more comfortable putting their wards there,” he said.

Fees and online class

Several parents he met felt that private schools had become unaffordable and it was unnecessary to pay fees during the pandemic.

“There is no significant reduction in fees charged by private schools. When classes are happening only online, they feel that instead of paying that fee to a private school their children could get the same education from a government school,” he said.

With admissions open till the end of August, the enrolments could go up further.