Missing compound wall takes toll on Natrampalli govt school strength
The student strength, which was 800 prior to COVID, has come down by more than one-tenth to 60, sources said.
Students cleaning the campus of the middle school at Natrampalli in Tirupattur district without a compound wall
TIRUPATTUR: The absence of a compound wall has allegedly led to dwindling student strength in a government middle school in Natrampalli in Tirupattur district.
The student strength, which was 800 prior to COVID, has come down by more than one-tenth to 60, sources said. As it is the only government middle school under the town panchayat, located in ward 14, students from five surrounding villages are dependent on this institution for their basic education, sources revealed.
But parents are now scared to send their wards to the school citing lack of safety due to the absence of a compound wall, said Chitra, mother of one of the students of the school.
“The school is located on the main road making it easy to access for students and anti-social elements as well. As there is no compound wall to stop the entry of strangers and outsiders, the school has become a haven of anti-socials by night, scaring off locals and parents,” said Thavamani, who had shifter her ward to another school.
Ward councillor L Gurusev lamented about the inaction of authorities despite multiple representations to ensure safety of the institution. “We had repeatedly appealed to all higher officials, including the district collector and officials of the education department, but to no avail,” he rued.
The local body has four higher secondary schools, apart from two private institutions in the locality. But this is the only middle school in the area which makes dwindling student strength a matter of concern, said a parent on condition of anonymity. “If the slide continues, the government might contemplate closing down the institution altogether,” the parent rued.
The situation is getting worse every year. The student strength was 72 last year, which has now touched an all-time low of 60 now, sources revealed. The school head Thenmozhi said that the school not having a compound wall and the presence of convents nearby are the reasons for dwindling student strength.
When contacted over the school issue, Collector D Baskara Pandian said that “building a compound wall is not a big task.” But he also stated that a drastic reduction in student strength attributed to the compound wall issue appeared unbelievable. However, Baskara Pandian assured to look into the matter at the earliest.