BENGALURU: The state government may be trying to increase enrolment in government schools by starting English medium teaching at Hobli level schools, but parents of children who attend these institutions say they are more worried about the lack of basic facilities like power supply, toilets and playgrounds for their children.
For the first time, from the upcoming academic year, the Government will launch its plan to start English medium teaching. But the Department of Public Instructions (DPI) annual report paints a sorry picture of these institutions, making it clear why parents still prefer private schools.
In Karnataka, there are as many as 48,188 government schools including 4696 high schools. The report, available with The New Indian Express, says that 4297 schools do not have toilets. Boys do not have toilets at 2847 schools while girls do not have toilets at 1350 schools. This apart, 1796 schools do not have electricity supply even today and as many as 19,386 schools do not have a playground for their students.
Jayalakshmi, who works as a maid at Chandra layout, sends her two children to a private school where she pays Rs. 1500 as monthly fee for both kids. “Earlier, I sent them to a government school, but they did not have a full time teacher. There were two teachers for five classes. Shoes, books and uniforms would arrive in the middle of the year. I don’t want my children to end up working like me, I want quality education for them,” she said.
With many parents unwilling to send their children to Government schools, the numbers are fast reducing. In 2017 the Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement survey showed that the number of students studying in government schools decreased by 9.96 lakh since 2010-2017 while at the same time, 28.76 lakh more students joined private schools.
Experts say that the problem lies with the spending on these schools. Every year, crores of rupees is allotted in each state budget for development. It is spent too, but the condition remains pathetic, says Vasudeva Sharma, former member of the Child Rights Commission.
“Nobody questions where the money is spent. It looks like the government is not interested in running these schools. In rural areas, there are School Development Monitoring Committees (SDMC), which are not serving the purpose, the members have become puppets of the headmaster or local panchayat,’’
he said.