25% rise in govt schools with less than 10 students
70% Schools Couldn’t Better Their Strength
Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com
Chennai:27.08.2019
The number of government primary and middle schools with students’ strength in single digits rose by 25% this year compared to last year. The admission data for the year 2019-20 revealed that 1,531 schools had less than 10 students, against 1,238 last year.
This has surprised teachers and officials as there has been an increase of one lakh students in government and government-aided schools this year because of the efforts of teachers to canvass for admissions. But, around 70% of schools were not able to improve their strength for various reasons, sources said. So far, the school education department has not undertaken any study of the reasons.
There are 50 schools with no students in the state and these schools are being converted as libraries.
A school headmaster in Karur district said the panchayat union primary school in K Paramathi block could not attract any student despite the best effort by the teachers. “School education authorities have given permission to start a private school opposite the government school. The private school with school vans has rolled out several offers to parents including transport fee waiver for the second child in a family. This has resulted in decline in the number of students in the government school,” he said.
“Though students in government primary and middle schools perform better than those in private schools, many parents are not willing to admit their children to our schools. There is a stigma about government schools among the parents,” another headmaster in Kancheepuram district said.
Some teachers said the migration of workers was one of the main reasons for decline in strength in some schools. Casual labourers and economically disadvantaged people alone prefer government schools but when they move to cities for employment, they pull out their children from school and take them along, they said.
Su.Moorthy, co-ordinator, Federation for Education Development, urged the school education department to set limits to the area schools could admit students from. “Now, private schools fetch students from as far as 10 km from their location. School vehicles have to be restricted and neighbourhood school concept needs to be introduced,” he said.
To gain the confidence of parents, the state government has to appoint one teacher per class, he added.
R Doss, general secretary, Thamizhaga Arambapalli Asiriyar Kootani cited the decline in schoolgoing children, as result of birth control measures, as one of the reasons for declining strength in government schools. Besides, he said, sending children to private schools had become a matter of prestige for parents.
70% Schools Couldn’t Better Their Strength
Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com
Chennai:27.08.2019
The number of government primary and middle schools with students’ strength in single digits rose by 25% this year compared to last year. The admission data for the year 2019-20 revealed that 1,531 schools had less than 10 students, against 1,238 last year.
This has surprised teachers and officials as there has been an increase of one lakh students in government and government-aided schools this year because of the efforts of teachers to canvass for admissions. But, around 70% of schools were not able to improve their strength for various reasons, sources said. So far, the school education department has not undertaken any study of the reasons.
There are 50 schools with no students in the state and these schools are being converted as libraries.
A school headmaster in Karur district said the panchayat union primary school in K Paramathi block could not attract any student despite the best effort by the teachers. “School education authorities have given permission to start a private school opposite the government school. The private school with school vans has rolled out several offers to parents including transport fee waiver for the second child in a family. This has resulted in decline in the number of students in the government school,” he said.
“Though students in government primary and middle schools perform better than those in private schools, many parents are not willing to admit their children to our schools. There is a stigma about government schools among the parents,” another headmaster in Kancheepuram district said.
Some teachers said the migration of workers was one of the main reasons for decline in strength in some schools. Casual labourers and economically disadvantaged people alone prefer government schools but when they move to cities for employment, they pull out their children from school and take them along, they said.
Su.Moorthy, co-ordinator, Federation for Education Development, urged the school education department to set limits to the area schools could admit students from. “Now, private schools fetch students from as far as 10 km from their location. School vehicles have to be restricted and neighbourhood school concept needs to be introduced,” he said.
To gain the confidence of parents, the state government has to appoint one teacher per class, he added.
R Doss, general secretary, Thamizhaga Arambapalli Asiriyar Kootani cited the decline in schoolgoing children, as result of birth control measures, as one of the reasons for declining strength in government schools. Besides, he said, sending children to private schools had become a matter of prestige for parents.
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