NALGONDA: With the lone government primary school in Nagulapahad village facing closure due to zero enrolment, the gram panchayat in Penpahad mandal of Suryapet district has launched an initiative to keep the school running.
The panchayat will provide 25 kg of rice and an electric rice cooker to every household that enrols a child in the school this academic year. It has also announced a bicycle for every student who completes Class 5 to help them travel to the high school in a neighbouring village, located 1.5 km away. Students joining the school will also receive free bags and notebooks.
The initiative comes after all 10 students enrolled in Classes 1 to 5 during the previous academic year shifted to private schools this year, leaving the school with no students. Following the decline in enrolment, the School Education department declared it as a ‘zero enrolment school’ and issued a transfer-on-deputation order for the lone teacher.
Nagulapahad, which has a population of around 1,000, has nearly 25 children in Classes 1 to 5, all currently studying in three private schools at the Suryapet district headquarters, about 20 km away.
After learning about the school’s situation, NRIs from Nagulapahad, many of whom studied there, came forward to support its revival. With their backing, the gram panchayat unanimously approved the incentives to encourage parents to re-enrol their children in the local school.
Speaking to TNIE, Sarpanch S Niranjan Reddy said the initiative was supported by panchayat members and funded by NRIs who had studied at the school.
Panchayat representatives are also visiting households to persuade parents to return their children to the government school.
The panchayat has also decided to stop private school buses from entering the village from Tuesday if parents continue sending their children outside. The three buses currently operate daily, transporting students between Nagulapahad and Suryapet.
One parent said he chose a private school because many neighbours had done so. Another said he was willing to send his children back to the government school, not because of the incentives, but to help save the institution.
