Low attendance a concern for BBMP’s 'Schools on Wheels' project

The BBMP's 'Schools on Wheels' (SoW) initiative is not doing well as few children from lower-income groups are getting admitted to the formal education system through it.

A reality check by DH has revealed that many of the 'Schools on Wheels' buses have low attendance, and some, like the one visited by this reporter, do not have any students at all.

Speaking anonymously to DH, a teacher mentioned that getting children to attend classes regularly was a difficult task.

A teacher expressed concern over the attendance of students in certain areas, stating, "In many of these areas, there are children of migrant labourers who take up construction and other such works. They hardly stay here for a few days and shift to other areas where they get work. Hence, there is no guarantee that a student who attended classes today will turn up tomorrow."

To compound the issue, one of the zones also had drivers absent in its buses.

"Since the driver is not regular, the bus is usually parked at the office now. We go on foot to the slum areas and try to put together a few children and teach somewhere close by," yet another teacher who did not want to be named said.

None of the BBMP’s ambitious plans like providing meals and uniforms to SoW students actually took off.

Teachers from various zones have suggested that such measures could motivate students to attend school.

"Now, sometimes, we carry biscuits and chocolates to attract children and bring them to the buses. Any such initiative by the authorities will help get children to attend schools regularly," a teacher said.

The BBMP repurposed 10 buses from the BMTC at a cost of approximately Rs 4 lakh per bus to include educational features, as part of the SoW initiative aimed at providing informal education to children from lower-income groups.

The programme was initially postponed due to the pandemic but was launched in 2021.

However, even after two years since its inception, the initiative has made little progress in enrolling these children into formal schools, which is the ultimate goal of the programme.

According to a teacher, "We identified a few children who were eligible for school admission. However, their parents were unwilling to enroll them since they wanted them to either work or stay home and take care of household chores."

She added that lack of documents and frequent change of workplace also hindered the progress.

"There have been days when we have not been able to get a single student to attend classes. When this is the case, getting them admitted to a normal school is out of the question," another teacher said.

Senior BBMP officials said they are hoping to get at least a few admissions for the next academic year.