In the home district of Karnataka state minister for primary and secondary education Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, a one-student-one-teacher school is facing closure.
In the home district of state minister for primary and secondary education Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, a one-student-one-teacher school is facing closure.
The government primary school in Sanemuderi in Karwar taluk has a large hall that can hold five classes. This is the classroom for a lone student and a teacher who are engaged in the teaching and learning process.
The teacher Shaileshri Gunagi comes to school at 8.30 am. She and the fourth grader Ashwini Atmarama Shetkar ring the school bell and say a prayer in the morning. At 3.30 pm, they leave the school after singing the national anthem.
Gunagi still maintains an attendance register and calls out “Ashwini Atmarama Shetkar” to which the student answers “Yes, teacher”.
This institution on the verge of closure is the only Kannada school in Sanemuderi village which has 86 families belonging to Konkani- and Marathi-speaking communities.
When the school started in 1975, it had six classes drawing at least 120 students. But in the last few years, the attendance dropped steadily to reach this state. “Last year, there were three students. Two of them dropped out to study in some another school. So I am now left with only Ashwini,” said Gunagi.
“The school is facing closure as it is impossible to sustain with just one student. But I’ve appealed to the department heads and the local people to get more children to the school and I’ve promised to serve them with dedication,” she said.
What led the school to this pathetic condition? The problem started when most families began sending their children to Sacred Hearts English School and another English school being run by Sadashivgadh.
Ashwini does not want the school to be closed. She promises to bring laurels to the school by studying hard. But she misses the games period as she does not have anyone to play with her.
The vice-president of the grama panchayat Geeta Vilas Rane said she had asked the education department to give the school some more time to get more students.Will minister Kageri come to the rescue?
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