Badi Bata flunks response test in Hyd

Hyderabad: The Badi Bata programme organised by the School Education Department received a lukewarm response from the people. The programme achieved little results after the end of the campaign on April 13.A District Education Officer (DEO), on the condition of anonymity said though they have clearly explained the parents about the advantages of sending their children to government schools and the measures the government had taken to implement the standards of education, he was not sure about how many would send their children to these schools.

He said the DEOs and MEOs have sent SMS to the parents informing about availability of English medium in government schools at the primary level. The Badi Bata programme was launched on April 3 to attract children to the primary sections of the government schools. Teachers, education officers and public representatives participated in the programme.

Campaign had been taken up to impress the parents to enroll their children in government schools. Public meetings, rallies and message disseminations programmes have been taken up. Parents of children in Anganwadis were counseled and were informed about the amenities and benefits being provided in them. The source also said in some areas campaign was poor due to shortage of teachers. Hundreds of teachers of government schools were engaged in paper valuation and some others were given various works of the Education department.

The government had taken up the Badi Bata programme to raise the enrollment in government schools in view of falling numbers. With the inclination towards English medium, thousands of parents have been sending their children to private schools, leading to fall in enrollment in government schools.