MARASUR: A novel approach by the Gram Panchayat at Marasur, a village located near Chandapura in Anekal, has resulted in boosting the number of students at the government primary school. The school, where the pupil strength dwindled from 600 to less than 100 over a few years due to the mushrooming of private institutions, has now regained its lost popularity among residents.
The change was brought about by the Gram Panchayat members who decided to start Makkala Mane, an English-medium pre-school providing free education to children on the lines of private schools. The school also provides transportation facility.
The idea of starting Makkala Mane was conceived by former Panchayat chairman Purushotham, who studied in the same government school. “I felt bad when I saw the fall in the number of students. We wanted to do something about it, and came to know about a pre-school concept run by the School Development Monitoring Committee at KR Nagara,” he said. “We constructed a new classroom and painted it to give it the look of a private pre-school. We gave uniform sets, including a tie, belt and shoes, to the students. We also hired three teachers who were working in a private pre-school,’’ he added.
The current Panchayat chairman, Prabhakar Reddy, said they then took it forward, and arranged a vehicle. “The van goes to eight nearby villages, picks up children and drops them in the evening,” he said, adding that the number of students has increased from 50 to over 80 in both LKG and UKG in two years.
Savitha, a teacher who travels from Attibele, said she has earlier worked with a pre-school chain for over 17 years. “I use the same methodology, and have introduced books from well-known publishers, and art and activity-based teaching here,’’ she added.
The Panchayat is spending `7 lakh per year on running the school, including the cost of transportation, uniform, books, infrastructure maintenance and other expenses. Panchayat Development Officer Shashi Kiran said the children currently bring food from home. “We have ootada mane at the Panchayat where housewives do the cooking. In the coming days, we plan to involve them,’’ he added.
Most parents work at the nearby garment factory, or are engaged in farm labour or other manual jobs. Nethra (28), who had to drop out after Class 7, is happy that her child is attending this school. “I make breakfast and lunch, and drop my son to the point where the Panchayat vehicle comes to pick him,” said Nethra.