CHENNAI: Severe shortage of staff and lack of adequate infrastructure is taking the sheen off an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), in Pattipulam village near Mahabalipuram. While the Union government, which runs EMRS, recently announced that enrolments in the last three years have increased in Tamil Nadu compared to other States where it declined, plenty of woes remain to be addressed.
One of eight such schools in Tamil Nadu, the EMRS in Mahabalipuram primarily caters to tribals from Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Vellore, among others, and offers free education. When TNIE visited the school earlier this week, it was found that there were no teachers for Class 11. Students said most of the day is spent playing or whiling time in hostels. “We don’t know how we will face the board exams next year if there’s no teacher,” said Mallika*, a Class 11 student. The school also didn’t have enough teachers for Classes 9 and 10.
There are about 149 tribal students currently, of whom, 13 are in Class 11. While most students are from the Irular community, there are also Narikuravars and Malai Kauravas. A teacher, on condition of anonymity, told TNIE, “Next year, there will be 46 students in Classes 11 and 12. The government must appoint at least one teacher each for maths, science, commerce, computer science, English, and language.”
The school also lacks a watchman, a librarian, an assistant cook, and boys’ hostel warden. It also did not have a compound wall, putting students’ safety at risk. “There have been times when people from outside randomly stroll into our campus at night. The girls’ hostel is locked at 8 pm, but it is still unsafe,” Mallika said. TNIE also noticed that the toilets are at isolated spots on the campus, where there are no compound walls.
Further, the students lack access to purified drinking water. The school has no sports facilities as well.
Additionally, the understaffed teachers get a salary of just `13,000 per month. “Our petrol costa alone come up to `4,000 a month,” a teacher said. An official with the Directorate of Tribal Welfare told TNIE, “We are adding a separate campus in another locality. All the issues will be addressed. Our officials inspected the school recently.”
*Names changed