'Govt schools should offer quality education to kids'

District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said government schools should rise up to the level of the private schools in terms of the infrastructure and quality education.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the extension building of the 125-year-old Board High school, the minister said the children can be attracted to the government schools only by providing quality education and facilities which are up to the mark.

Madhwaraj said the government offers all kinds of financial and infrastructural facilities to its schools to boost the attendance. Despite this, serious attempts are not being made to approach students and convince them to come to the schools. Motivation and challenging atmosphere is lacking in government schools to increase the students’ attendance, he added.

He said Rs 4.27 crore has been released to the school in the last three years. The main building was built at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore and the extension structure is constructed at a cost of Rs 170 lakh. The children are offered free uniform, shoes and mid-day meal. In spite of all these positive factors, the government schools have failed to attract the children, he regretted.

The school had 54 students once and it has 74 students currently. The PU college has 273 students. Earlier, it had 233 students, he added. Rajya Sabha Member Oscar Fernandes, who is the alumnus of the school, said every child should have the right for education.

Lauding the school for its role as the launching pad to many illustrious persons, including ISRO former chairman U R Rao, he said the school has never failed in encouraging the talents. He called upon brilliant students to help the students who are average in studies. Hard work yields immense results, he added.