Vizianagaram: Government schools receive facelift; student enrolment goes up

Vizianagaram: Municipal Elementary School at Kummari Veedhi in Kothapeta area of Vizianagaram town is one among the hundreds of government schools run by government which lacked basic amenities like drinking water and toilets until recently.

But the present situation is entirely different. The programme Mana Badi Naadu-Nedu taken up by the State government gave a facelift to the government schools and provided the required facilities.

Naturally, most of the parents look at private schools to provide better education for their children.

However, the number of admissions increased significantly in government schools this academic year, thanks to the improvement of infrastructure and other facilities in these schools.

Collector M Hari Jawaharlal said separate toilets for boys and girls with running water, electricity including fans in classrooms, purified drinking water, benches for children and painting of walls in classrooms with useful information regarding their class subjects, English labs, compound walls, additional classrooms and green boards in classes are being provided.

"We have an action plan to develop all the 2,763 primary and secondary schools in three phases," he says.

There are 1,060 schools which will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 236.82 crore in phase-1 in this district. Even the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka, to provide 3 pairs of uniform, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, school bag, text and notebooks free of cost to all the students is another aspect for improvement of admissions in these schools.

District Education Officer G Nagamani said, "The number of admissions in the government and Zilla Parishad Schools has increased. The improved facilities and Jagananna Vidya Kanuka are the main factors which have contributed to the increase in enrolment in schools. There are about 12,000 new admissions in government schools this year compared to last year."