Telugu-medium schools lose sheen

There are no students in the village school but a teacher attends regularly. Such is the case at a Telugu-medium government school in Guttakadi Tanda, the remote hamlet of Chinna Adirala village in Jadcharla mandal.

The lone teacher begins the day by singing the national anthem and ringing the bell. But no students turn up. By evening he rings the final bell and leaves for home.

Two years ago there were 22 students and two teachers. Gradually, the strength declined. One teacher was shifted to another school on deputation.

The lone teacher, Bhaskar, continued to teach 18 students till last year; the number has now come down to four.

Later, parents of these students shifted their wards to a private school in the beginning of this academic year bringing the number of students to zero.

Bhaskar is looking forward to the day when students would join the government Telugu-medium school. There are 40 families in the tribal Tanda and all their children study in a private school, 3km away from the Tanda.

The reason is that they want their children to study in English medium. Komli, mother of a student, said that she wants her son to talk and write in English.

It is high time the government take some initiative to encourage parents to send their children to study in government schools.