This state govt school headmaster’s Rs 1,000 per class 1 student may be worth a fortune in future

The humble teacher calls his efforts ‘small,’ and explains the admissions drive taken up by him and his colleagues. The headmaster is confident that the number of admissions will cross 40 in the next one week for all the classes.

Corporates adopting government schools often get good publicity. But there are many good Samaritans whose contribution towards education goes unnoticed. 

Head master Siddamalla Khota of the government Kannada medium higher primary school at Hipparagi Tota at Adahallatti in Athani taluk is one such silent contributor. He has promised to deposit Rs 1,000 in a bank account for every student taking admission into class 1 at the school this academic year, out of his pocket.  

This may save this school, on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border, which faces closure due to dipping admissions. The school was started in 2005 and had 60-70 students each in classes 1 to 7. The decline started subsequently, thanks to shortage of teachers and a lack of infrastructure. Last year saw the least number of admissions at 18. 

Khota has come up with novel initiatives to attract student admissions ever since he got posted here in 2023. He organises quiz programmes for middle and high school children in the area every month and distributes prizes by spending from his own pocket. 

He also holds training sessions for youths planning to appear for competitive exams. Khota had taken special classes during the summer vacation. He is also trying to get donors to contribute for the development of the school. 

All this with the aim to improve admissions from class 1 itself. The results of the head masters efforts are beginning to show up. 

“Last year, for class 1, we had just two admissions. This year, we had nine admissions on the day of school reopening itself,” Khota told DH.  The humble teacher calls his efforts ‘small,’ and explains the admissions drive taken up by him and his colleagues. The HM is confident that the number of admissions will cross 40 in the next one week for all the classes. 

Parents have demanded that a compound wall should be built around the school premises, besides providing a water filter so that the students get clean drinking water. Who knows, kids benefiting from Khota’s largeheartedness may go on to earn big in future.