CHENNAI: It has been 15 days since A Karnan’s daughters- in Class 11 and Class 7 went to school. Ever since the family was moved from MGR Nagar along the banks of Adyar to the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) settlements in Perumbakkam, along with around 100 others, children have been struggling to find a school.
The government higher secondary school in Perumbakkam is suffering from a shortage of teachers. Children who sought admission at the school said Tamil and English medium students were grouped and there was no teacher for the Biology-Maths group. In Semmencherry, which is half a km away, parents were advised to admit kids to the Perumbakkam higher secondary school as priority at their school was given to those living in Semmencherry.
Karnan, an auto driver by profession said, “Our family is from the SC community and my daughter will go on to become the first graduate in the family. She is a good student and has scored over 400 marks in Class 10. It pains me to see her sit at home, especially since the half-yearly exams are only a few weeks away.”
The move is especially hard for his daughter since she had so far been a student of the Ashok Nagar Girls Higher Secondary School, considered to be among the best corporation schools.
Another parent, who did not want to be named, said the students of Perumbakkam Higher Secondary School were told to learn concepts of science through ‘Manarkeni’ app. While around 100 families have so far resettled in Perumbakkam, 455 more families are expected to be relocated under the Adyar River Restoration Project (ARRP) of Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT).
Activists questioned the mass eviction drive since nothing is being done to help students continue their education. “The failure to conduct a social impact assessment has a direct impact on children as the government does not have required information on the education details of children to mitigate the adverse impact of resettlement on children,” said Vanessa Peter of The Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC). The IRCDUC, in a recent report, highlighted the poor state of schools in and around Perumbakkam.
The report said in the high school and higher secondary schools, mid-day meals were not reaching the students on time and that the approach to the higher secondary school was isolated and did not have streetlights. Speaking to TNIE, school education department officials said although there was confusion initially, they had instructed the Semmencherry school to admit students from Perumbakkam. “We will coordinate with the newly relocated residents and ensure that students are given spot admissions in schools of their choice,” said a slum board official.