Teachers fan out to bring children back to government schools

While the summer vacation is a time of immense joy for students, it's also a kind of rest period for teachers. However, teachers in government schools in the taluk are not sitting at home because of the holidays; they have undertaken a children's enrollment drive in the villages. So far, they have enrolled more than 730 children in the 1st standard.

 The drive is being conducted in 152 government lower primary schools and 91 higher primary schools in the 22 clusters in the taluk. Teachers are visiting door-to-door, distributing pamphlets, and convincing parents about the benefits of children studying in government schools. As a result, parents are showing interest in admitting their children to government schools.

Started Before the Holiday: "A meeting was held with the headmasters of the taluk's schools two days before the summer vacation started on April 10. We explained the need for a special enrollment drive at the village level before private schools enter the villages," said Block Education Officer P. Somalingayya .

"Due to the drive undertaken by collecting information about children from the anganwadis in the taluk, more than 730 children have been enrolled in the 1st standard in our schools so far. The Azim Premji Foundation helped us by providing some materials including pamphlets and enrollment forms," he said.

  "In 2024, there were 7,767 children in the lower primary schools (1st to 5th standard) in the taluk. Among them, there were 1,166 students in the 1st standard. Through the special enrollment drive, we aim to increase the enrollment to 1,500 this year," said Somalingayya.

"Generally, the children's enrollment drive takes place in early June after the summer vacation ends. However, a special drive is being conducted under the leadership of our Block Education Officer to increase the declining number of children in government schools. We are attracting parents towards government schools by convincing them about the many facilities available in our schools," said T.N. Chikkaveerayya, the Cluster Resource Person for Bannikuppe 'B' Cluster in the taluk.