E-Paper
Andhra decision for schools’ merger faces resistance; parents, teachers fear drop-outs
All the existing Anganwadi centres will function as YSR pre-primary schools. As per the government norms, the existing primary schools, which currently include Classes 1 to 5, will be turned into foundational schools, and will have preparatory class, and Classes 1 and 2
The latest decision of Andhra Pradesh government to merge the state-run primary schools with secondary schools in the name of rationalisation is being met with some resistance from parents as well as teachers’ unions, who are apprehensive that it might result in drop-outs in the long-run.
At the beginning of the new academic year in June this year, the state government had issued several guidelines, stating that they were in tune with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
As per the new norms issued by the school education department, there will be three kinds of schools in the government sector — pre-primary schools (PP1 and PP2), foundational schools (preparatory class, Classes 1 and 2) and secondary schools (Classes 3 to 10).
All the existing Anganwadi centres will function as YSR pre-primary schools. As per the government norms, the existing primary schools, which currently include Classes 1 to 5, will be turned into foundational schools, and will have preparatory class, and Classes 1 and 2. If the pre-primary schools are within one-kilometre radius of the foundation schools, they will be merged into a combined unit.
The existing primary schools with Classes 3 to 5 will be merged with the nearest upper primary school or secondary school within a three-kilometre radius of the existing primary school; and the students will be shifted there.
If there are two such secondary schools (Class 3 to 10) with both English and Telugu medium within a distance of five-kilometre from each other, based on the enrolment in a particular medium, they can be proposed to be turned into exclusively Telugu or English medium schools.
According to the official statistics,presently, there are 33,813 primary schools, 4,158 upper primary schools, 6,668 high schools being run by the government. “With the merger of Classes 3 to 5 with the secondary schools and shifting of students accordingly, at least 5,400 primary schools would face closure in the coming days,” said Andhra Pradesh United Teachers’ Federation president Nakka Venkateshwarlu.
He said though the guidelines say that all students of Classes 3 to 5 have to be moved to upper primary and secondary schools within a three-kilometre radius, in most cases, particularly in rural areas and tribal areas, the students will have to travel for more than five kilometres.
“This will result in either drop-out of the students, particularly girls, as parents would not like to send them to such longer distances due to lack of proper transportation,” he said.
Activist Pavan Kumar P who has been working in tribal areas like Parvathipuram and Paderu, said the newly-allotted schools are not accessible for students as they are forced to cross streams and trek longer distances to reach the schools.
“We have been getting reports that parents have stopped sending their children even for three to five kilometre distance as there is no transportation facility for the government schools,” Kumar said.
Venkateshwarlu said the restructuring of schools will also complicate teaching post allocations and availability of teachers. The government guidelines say each foundational school will have one secondary grade teacher to look after Classes 1 and 2 and the remaining teachers will be moved to secondary schools, along with students of Classes 3 to 5.
“Once the students complete their education in foundation schools, they will have to go secondary schools. Over a period of time, the enrolment in the primary schools will come down due to non-availability of higher classes in their villages and such schools will face closure,” Venkateshwarlu said.
State education minister Botsa Satyanarayana, however, allayed these apprehensions. He said not a single school will be closed due to these reforms which were being introduced only as per the NEP guidelines.
“We are, in fact, strengthening the primary education system by converting Anganwadi centres into pre-primary schools. We will appoint expert subject teachers right from the third standard and improve the quality in the schools which will be on par with residential and central schools,” he said.
Regarding the problem of students travelling for more than three kilometres, Satyanarayana said only a few hundred schools were found having such a problem of travelling for more than one kilometre. “Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had clearly instructed to address the issue by providing necessary facilities to the students,” he said.
