Harshini Brahmavar
Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Jun 27: It is common understanding that an institution having a history of more than 100 years, brings with it a rich and long standing heritage. But contradictory to this consensus, here is an educational institution that although celebrated its centenary year in 2012, epitomises the pathetic condition of most government schools.
Established by the pre-independence generation in the year 1912, over an area of five acres, Government Higher Primary School, Anjaru Onthibettu has very few students. This is no surprise, given the plight of the school. In fact, this trend of government schools having less than 15 students has been rampant over the past few years, eventually leading to the closure of such schools.
The Onthibettu School faces a similar fate and may soon cease to exist, either shut down or converted into another place of activity. At present, the school has less than ten students; the education rule implies that if schools face such a situation they have to be shut down.
The school at present consists of five students and four teachers including the headmaster. The student strength has been decreasing over the past five years. There was a time when there were 60 students, but the number came down to 25 the previous year, and now the school has just five students. A boy in the third standard, another in the fifth, a girl from sixth and two from the seventh standard are the only students left in this school.
The bitter irony is that although the Onthibettu School is situated in a developed and densely populated area, it is facing this plight. The main reason for this is better facilities available at other schools. Hiriyadka Higher primary school, being one of them, has all the fundamental requisites and facilities like mid-day meals and above all, the students are provided with quality education. The children do not mind travelling long distances to the school by auto rickshaws or school vehicles.
The authorities concerned complain that they are not able to find the root cause for the deterioration and hence blame the administrative system for the decline in the number of students.
According to education officer Ashok Kamath, "The department has planned to start the Dakhalathi Andolan (enrolment drive) for getting more students admitted. Two teachers have been been discharged from duties considering the surplus staff. In addition to that, the authorities of the Morarji Desai school have visited and inspected the school premises and the implementation is in process."
Kamath further revealed that the school will be converted into a lower primary school if a similar condition prevails.
Sadly, the head of the institution does not seem to display any interest in enhancing the facilities at the school which in turn would facilitate the enrollment of students in large numbers.
It is a fact that times have changed and our government schools need to keep pace with modern demands. In this technology driven world, students are being exposed to globalization which fosters rapid growth and in turn broadens their mindset. Thus, no matter what educational background they come from, they are compelled to think out of the box. In such a case, the native language no longer remains a barrier. The children want parents to send them to schools and stress on a good school that would pave the way for a bright future.
This is a wake up call for the government of Karnataka to take immediate measures and uplift the Kannada medium schools. The schools should be provided with the prerequisites that not only enable healthy education but one that would help the students face any global situation in future. At the same time, the government should also create an awareness and prove to the parents and children that government schools are no less than private or English medium schools.
It is only when this realization occurs that we will not see another Onthibettu School close due to lack of students.