Government schools across the city welcomed the new academic year with festive fervour with sights of children joining hands with their teachers to decorate their schools and laying out rangolis within the school premises.
More than a hundred parents from Hosakerehalli neighbourhood were at the Government Higher Primary School. Uniforms and textbooks were distributed to students from Classes 1 to 8 by members of the School Development and Monitoring Committee.
Tejaswini (name changed), a Class 4 student, was seen sweeping the floor of a classroom. “We create an atmosphere in which children believe that doing chores in school is just like doing chores at home. This gives them a sense of responsibility,” said P N Susheelamma, the school’s headmistress.
“There is no reason for our children to feel inferior. We can say with pride that government schools are at par with private schools,” she claimed.
However, with close to 400 primary students as of now, the school has seen some decrease in enrolments with the advent of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, she said.
“There are 15 private schools in this area and we have to compete with all of them, which are now required to accommodate 25 per cent of children from the weaker sections,” she said.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s rains took its toll on the Government Primary School in Malleswaram. The old school building was leaking and teachers had a tough time making arrangements to celebrate the start of the new year.
“Although there is a sense of belonging among children towards the school, we have requested the Education Department to provide us peons so that we can avoid making children do the cleaning,” said Saroja, the school’s headmistress.
At the Government Higher Primary School in R T Nagar, students were seen sweeping the streets right outside their school, ahead of the school’s preparation for the reopening ceremony.