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Coronavirus lockdown: With migrants returning home, Ludhiana schools fear dwindling class strength
Principals of various schools are receiving calls from parents for school leaving certificates
With lakhs of migrant labourers choosing to return to their home states from Ludhiana, schools located in the district have another reason to worry amid the coronavirus lockdown — the decreasing class strength.
Principals of various government and private institutions are receiving calls from parents for school leaving certificates.Over 5 lakh migrants working in Ludhiana have registered on the Punjab helpline portal to return home.
As per sources, majority of students at the government and private schools in Giaspura, Dhandari Kalan, Dhandari Khurd, Sherpur Kalan, Lohara, Shimlapuri, Jamalpur and Mundian Kalan belong to migrant families.
Headmaster of Government High School, Sherpur Kalan, Lakhvir Singh said, “Of the 1,010 students in Classes 6-10, 90% come from migrant families hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. I am receiving many calls from students informing that they are going back to their home towns. This is worrying, as it will bring down our enrolment.”
“Most of the 1,056 students in Classes 6-12 at our schools are from other states. So far, 12 students from Bihar have informed me about their return and they are not sure when they will come back to Ludhiana,” said Ujjalvir Singh, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhandari Khurd.
Satish Kumar, who works at a factory, said he and his family will be travelling to Uttar Pradesh on Friday. “Due to depleting finances, we have decided to return home. My family will die of hunger here. My children study in Government School, Sherpur Kalan, and I have informed their teachers about them leaving,” he said.
Durga Rani, a domestic help who hails from Gaya in Bihar, said they were a family of six. “Earlier, my three children got mid-day meal from school, but it stopped with closure of schools. Now, I have no money to buy ration and prepare meals for my family, so we have decided to return to Bihar,” she said.
Head teacher of Government Primary School, Giaspura, Nisha Rani, said, “We have a strength of 2,675 students. As of now, no parent has informed me of their ward leaving. We will get clarity once the school reopens.”
