English schools no longer an elite preserve

Govt-run Kannada schools face threat of closure even in small cities

That of Kannada medium schools run by the government being forced to close down for lack of students.

Tumkur district is no exception to the phenomenon. As many as six government primary schools in the taluk alone, including in Gulerave, T G Palya and Mayagondanahalli have shut shop this academic year. To better the career prospects for their children, parents are increasingly admitting them to convent schools that are sprouting up wherever the government schools are closing down.

Block Education Officer Nanjaiah says that since there were no admissions for class I this year, they were forced to close down the schools. Tumkur taluk has about 204 lower primary and 295 higher primary government schools.

There are also 16 aided schools and one unaided school, with Kannada as the medium of instruction. But clearly, there seem to be no takers.

The student strength of the 109-year old Arya Balika School on M G Road, has fallen from 500 a decade ago to 82 at present. In the Kannada medium school near the office of the Superintendent of Police, there are four teachers, including the head master, for a student strength of just 80 from classes I to VII. The school strength has plummeted from 150, ten years ago.

The government may be coming up with new schemes for the primary education sector. There may also be a number of facilities on offer, including the mid-day meals. But parents don’t seem to be interested.

The parent of a government school student told Deccan Herald that parents look for quality, notwithstanding the facilities on offer. Teachers, on their part, say that parents of students in government schools do not monitor the academic progress of their children. “Parents of private school students take a lot of responsibility, which is not the case with our students,” said a teacher of a government school in the city.

All in all, the trend makes one wonder whether there will be any Kannada medium government schools left in the future.