Teacher’s Absence Hits ASR District Primary School For Adivasis

Visakhapatnam: The promise of education for Kondu Adivasi children from the remote hamlet of Jajula Bandham within the Mulapeta panchayat of Koyyuru mandal in ASR district remains unfulfilled.

Amid high expectations, the District Education and Mandal Education officers inaugurated the Mandal Parishad primary school last year for grades 1 through 5 students. A government teacher had also been appointed for the school. However, the teacher has visited the school only twice during the entire year. As a result, the school is primarily being run by a volunteer.

Not a single teacher has reported so far for duty though the new academic term began a week ago. Eight children, who have transitioned from the Anganwadi centre to the primary school, are without education, though the necessary infrastructure is in place. Organisation “Matrubhumi” constructed a modest school shed at a cost of ₹70,000, and a blackboard is ready. But without a teacher, the children are spending their days tending to cattle instead of learning.

Villagers, including Kondathamali Venkatrao and Kondathamle Jaggarao, have appealed to the ASR district collector for intervention. Their demands are appointing a regular teacher to teach during the weekdays, distribution of books and uniforms, and providing rice and eggs to the children as part of their midday meal.

“For the Kondu Adivasi community, education is not just a pathway to opportunity but a lifeline to break the cycle of marginalisation. The absence of a teacher has transformed a symbol of hope into a silent shed,” says Venkatrao.