TIRUPATI: The government schools in Chittoor district have been witnessing a spurt in admissions this academic year. Thanks to ‘Amma Vodi’ – a financial support scheme for parents of schoolstudents, announced by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Following the announcement, the district registered more than 20,000 new admissions in 4,783 government schools, including ZP and aided schools.
The municipal corporation schools and other schools in the municipalities across the district also registered a surge in the admissions, which crossed more than 8,000. It was learnt that over
9 lakh new admissions were registered across the state after the announcement of Amma Vodi scheme.
“We opted for government schools for our kids this time because of the annual financial aid of Rs 15,000 announced by the government. The commencement of English medium classes, quality midday meals made us give a thought to join our children in the government schools,” said Chintala Naveen Kumar of Tirupati.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Chittoor DEO Dr. K. Panduranga Swamy said, “We have organised a four-day programme ‘Badibata’, urging the parents to prefer government schools for admission but there was minimum response from the economically weaker sections of the society. After the announcement of ‘Amma Vodi’, there was a rise in the number of admissions in government schools, he said.
On the other hand, the inadequate infrastructure in some government schools has been bothering the teachers, who say that they cannot accommodate more number of students in the classrooms. It was learnt that many government schools in Chittoor district had placed additional orders for textbooks and uniforms due to the rise in the number of admissions.
“Over 65-75 per cent of the total admissions are relating to Class I. So far, we have distributed 20 lakh books to the students in government schools and with the rise in the number of admissions, we have asked for 14,000 more books for schools in Chittoor mandal alone,” the DEO maintained.
Meanwhile, the major concern bothering the government schools is the possible staff crunch due to promotions. As many as 600 odd teachers of primary schools are likely to get promoted to high schools and the primary schools in the district are likely to face trouble.
Ádmitting that there is a concern over staff crunch in primary schools, the DEO said, “We are trying to fill all the vacant posts and are confident that everything will be sorted out soon.”
Following the spurt in admissions, some schools in the district have put up flexis stating that admissions have closed. Madanapalle Municipal High School was the first school in Chittoor district to put up the ‘no admissions’ banner.
However, according to the norms, the government has no right to reject admissions, it is said.
