While State Government norms mandate that there should be not more than 40 students per teacher in a classroom, a government high school at a village here is running the show with just one teacher for 308 students.
And the lone teacher is none other than the HM, M S Nirmala Devi, who too has been transferred, but is awaiting a replacement. In 2000, the education department had sanctioned a high school for Melravanthavadi with a total strength of 13 teachers, including the HM. But the school has never had more than 4 teachers ever since it was opened. Making matters worse, the teachers’ strength reduced to 2 (HM and a secondary grade teacher) last year and has come down to one this academic year, sources said, adding, “Nirmala Devi, was transferred to Panruti a month ago, but she is still waiting for her replacement to hand over the charge. Nno teacher is willing to come here as they are aware of the situation. The other teacher (Anitha Kumar), whose name is in the promotion panel, has gone on medical leave fearing that she will be handed over charge.”
Panchayat president of the village C Senthil Kumar said that the village elders had hired the services of four youth from the village - B Asaithambi, C R Chandra Babu, V Venkataraman and Jaggannathan, who had completed MSc, BEd to help students in academics, for the last four years. They are being paid Rs 1,000 each a month. “They have even helped improve the pass percentage from 60 to 90 in SSLC examination,” Senthil Kumar said.
After persistent demands to the district administration and education department to post at least 5 teachers failed to evoke any response, locals locked the school on Monday last.
Following this, the education department deputed a teacher - J Sankar, a physically-challenged person from the Melpallipattu School, to handle Tamil classes for VI to X. “The teacher visits our school twice a week. Everyday he has to travel 8 km back and forth,” said one of the 46 students of Class X.
Other than Sankar, K Elangovan, an English teacher from Karimelapadi Government High school, has been taking classes at the Melvaranthavadi school three days a week since the last academic year.
Most of the students are children of farmers, agricultural labourers and narikuravas from the villages of Melravanthavadi, Rajapalayam, Ramapuram, Chettithangal and Chinnakondam.