VISAKHAPATNAM: Four hilltop villages in the Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district face significant challenges in accessing basic education and medical services. Kottemguda, Goppilapalem, Kadarevu and Kalyan Gummi villages, situated in the Pinakota and Gumma Panchayats of Anantagiri mandal, are home to around 150 Konda Dora tribals.
The 38 school going children in Kottemguda, Goppilapalem, and Kadarevu villages, along with 22 children in Kalyan Gummi, must travel considerable distances to attend school. With no local schools, children from Kalyan Gummi should walk 6 kms through dense forests to reach Bodugaruvu village at Chintalapudi Panchayat in Devarapalli mandal of Anakapalli district. The journey becomes perilous during the rainy season, often forcing the children to abandon their studies.
Similarly, children from Kottemguda, Goppilapalem, and Kadarevu villages traverse six water streams to reach Bodugaruvu for their education. In light of these challenges, some parents of the children have appealed to the ASR district Collector and Paderu ITDA Project Officer to assign two teachers to their villages.
They propose placing one teacher in Kalyan Gummi and other three villages. The villagers have pledged to construct a school shed using their own funds. Moreover, the villagers have urged the authorities to build a road to their remote villages in order to reach hospitals and access medical services.
Responding to the villagers’ concerns, District Education Officer of Paderu, P Brahmaji Rao, said, “I have instructed the Anantagiri Mandal Education Officer (MEO) to personally visit these villages, engage with the residents, collect data on the number of students, and assess the conditions. The MEO will explore the feasibility of setting up a common school or consider alternative solutions. He is scheduled to visit on May 8 and will submit a report.”
Brahmaji said, as per the Right to Education norms, a primary school should be within 1 km, an upper primary school within 3 km, and a secondary school within 5 km. “Based on the MEO’s survey, if the current schools attended by these children exceed these distances, we will set up schools within the specified limits,” he noted.