Even as the new academic year has started, non-release of the list of government schools upgraded during the new academic year 2017-18 by the School Education Department has become a cause for concern among children, parents and teachers.
In the budget presented in the Assembly in March, the State government announced that 150 government middle schools would be upgraded as high schools and another 100 high schools as higher secondary schools in 2017-18.
But, the School Education Department has so far not released the list of these schools.
The 100 proposed higher secondary schools can admit about 25,000 children — each school about 250 students in four groups – in the Plus One classes.
The 150 new high schools can take in 35,000 children in classes IX and X.
It has been 20 days since the results of the SSLC examinations were published and the children who studied in the government high schools would have got admitted in the government / government aided / private schools nearby their areas. The students who have come out successful in the Class 8 examinations in the government middle schools, too would have joined class 9 so far in the other schools. Thus the newly upgraded schools will find it a challenge to attract children in the newly introduced classes in the first year of upgrading.
Parents, children anxious
Several parents and teachers of government schools said the department should release the list of the upgraded government schools much ahead of the re-opening date. Had the department released the upgraded schools list by the end of May, it would have paved way for the rural students to continue their high school and higher secondary school studies in the same schools without any break. This would have provided a big relief to the parents, they said.
