RAJNANDGAON (CHHATTISGARH): A government primary school in Podi Patkona gram panchayat of Jashpur district in Chhattisgarh has just three students, but to run it costs the government `14 lakh per annum at `4.80 lakh per student.
It has two lar teachers, a head master, a sweeper and a cook-cum-helper. One student is enrolled each in Class I, II and III; the rest of the classes have no takers.
The mid-day meal is not prepared when students are absent, a frequent sight as the three students also attend a nearby angadwadi (rural child care) centre.
The 300 families in Podi Patkona prefer sending their wards to the nearby missionary school instead of the government school. “What can be done when children are not keen to attend this school,” said Manoj Tigga, who has been teaching in the school since 2014.
Two years ago, the Chhattisgarh government had merged hundreds of schools with less than 25 students with other government schools within one km radius instead of shutting them.