Sunday, August 13, 2017

Govt primary schools lose their sheen in Ponda

The Navhind Times: Ponda-Goa: Sunday, August 13, 2017.
The curtain has been coming down on government primary schools in state, and most of these schools have Marathi as medium of instruction.  Ponda taluka has recorded highest number of closure of government primary schools in the recent past.
In the last five   years, 29 government primary schools with Marathi as medium of instruction have closed down in the taluka. And the sad state of affairs for the government primary schools is that in the taluka there are 21 schools which have 10 students, or less than that.
Government figures obtained through a RTI plea from the ADEI Ponda say that during the academic year 2012-13 there were 140 government primary schools in the taluka, and out which nine schools closed down during 2013-14, bringing down the number to 131.
The situation worsened during the academic year 2014-15 as four more government primary schools closed down, while 2015-16 saw the closure   of seven schools. Six schools shut shop in 2016-17 and curtains have come down on three government primary schools in 2017-18.
In effect, in the last five years, 29 government primary schools with Marathi as medium of instruction have closed down in the taluka.
Interestingly out of the existing 111 government primary schools in the taluka, 21 schools have 10 students, or less than that. And to cap it all, no new students have been enrolled in six government primary schools for this academic year.
Moreover, only one student each has been admitted in 11 primary schools of the taluka for the ongoing academic year.
At present, around 3158 students are studying in the 111 government primary schools in the taluka. Of these 3158 students, 1581 are boys and 1577 are girls.
The government primary schools in the taluka with 10 or less number of students are:  GPS Ponda Centre in  Urdu medium  has six  students;  GPS Chirpute Bandora  (4 students); GPS Unir Bandora  (8);  GPS Paniwada Borim  (9); GPS Tishe Borim  (6); GPS Khajorda Borim  (6); GPS Murdi Khandepar   (8);  GPS Dhutole Marcaim  (8); GPS Hanso Marcaim  (7) and   GPS Parampoi Marcaim  has six students.
The other schools which have negligible student enrolment are:  GPS Konse Bethoda (6);  GPS Ghano Savoi  (6);  GPS Barbhat Shiroda  (5); GPS Karmane Dongar Shiroda  (7);   GPS Paz Shiroda  (10); GPS Sakre Shiroda  (10); GPS  Shiroda centre  (10); GPS Tariwada Shiroda  (7);  GPS  Mudai Panchwadi  (7); GPS Kaswada Talauli  (4)  and GPS Talauli has  six  students.