CHENNAI: Tharun N, with 478 marks in his Class 10 board exam, does not have an admission for Class 11, until now. The reason, he says, is that he’s from Kannagi Nagar and he is determined to study in an English medium school.
Tharun, along with a dozen other students from Kannagi Nagar, was waiting for admission at government Thoraipakkam higher secondary school, the only school in the locality that offers English medium for higher secondary classes. In their previous school at Kannagi Nagar, the only medium of instruction for Classes 11 and 12 is Tamil.
However, the students were turned away on Thursday, without an admission at the Thoraipakkam school and were asked to ‘try their luck’ on June 3 when the school reopens. “What if I wait till June 3 and they tell me admissions are full? What is the use scoring so much marks. I have only two options now – to go seek admission in a faraway school or shift to Tamil medium to continue studying in our Kannagi Nagar school,” said Tharun.
Shifting to Tamil medium is not an option for many students who studied in English until Class 10.
“It is after much effort that I was able to cope up with English medium. I cannot shift to Tamil medium now since it will be a waste of all efforts and secondly, I have to adapt to Tamil medium right from scratch,” said Nivetha S.
Parents from Kannagi Nagar claimed that their children were denied admission in the Thoraipakkam school because of the prejudice associated with the resettlement colonies. “We were treated very disrespectfully. I walked to the school everyday for at least five days now,” said Latha R, who sells fruits at Kannagi Nagar. Her husband Raja is an auto driver.
Karpagam S, who came with her friend seeking admission to the school said she was turned away after she mentioned she was from Kannagi Nagar. “They gave us a token number and asked us to wait. When we showed our Transfer Certificates, they saw that we were from Kannagi Nagar and asked us to try elsewhere for admission.”
When Express visited the school, the Headmistress was not available. Admission staff said, “We are not saying that we will not allow admission of students from Kannagi Nagar. We have to prioritise our own students. After that, we will know if we will be able to accommodate them (Kannagi Nagar candidates).”
Uma Vasudevan, a resident activist at Kannagi Nagar said the problem has now persisted for years.
“Every year, we have to fight to get admission for our children. We are not asking them to give admission to our students without giving admission to their own. They know what number of their students will apply. Accordingly, they may reserve seats for others.”