MANGALURU: Three teachers, 43 students, one classroom and no toilets! That’s the state of a government primary school at Balmatta in Mangaluru. Santhosh Bajal, secretary of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) submitted a memorandum to Block Education Officer Sadananda Poonja on Friday urging him to look into matter.
“Most of the children hail from poor economic background and nine students have left the school citing poor infrastructure. Classes from standard one to seven are being held in a single room. There are only two permanent teachers and a guest teacher. There are no physical education teachers nor a separate room for mid-day meal preparation. The teachers do not have separate rooms and the children also cannot concentrate on studies. If our demands are not met, we will protest along with the parents of the children,” he Sadananda said.
Meanwhile, BEO Poonja said the children will be shifted to an old college building on the campus and two toilets have been sanctioned. “The old college building has five classrooms. We have also made some alternative arrangements in a high school. The school headmistress has already written to the college principal in this regard. There is a shortage of one full-time teacher,” he said.