Badi Bata students shift to private schools

Hyderabad:  Badi Bata, the state-wide initiative, which was successful in enrolling children in government schools seems to be ineffective in retaining them. Students who had enrolled through the Badi Bata (Back to School) programme have switched back to private schools due to a lack of teaching staff and poor facilities.

Deccan Chronicle spoke with a number of teachers from government schools in Secunderabad, Manikonda and Medak, Isnapur, and Sangareddy. According to headmasters of government schools in the city, the facilities and infrastructure are still subpar.

According to official data, 1,69,280 pupils were enrolled in government schools under the Badi Bata. Among them, 51,006 students in Grades II through XII switched to private schools. A total of 10,123 of the 1,15,428 first-graders enrolled switched from the private schools.

" This is due to two main factors. First, they can utilise the transfer certificate to demonstrate that they haven't missed the two academic years. The second is that, now that physical classes are in full gear, parents are understanding how government schools operate,” according to Y. Spandana, headmistress of a government school in Medak who formerly worked for a government school in Isnapur.

She claimed that there were just 12 teachers at the Patancheru, Isnapur, government school for 800 kids. Another significant issue was overcrowding. Instructors report that their standard class sizes make it challenging to carry out their teaching duties. In some classrooms, there are more than 135 students.

The lack of instructors who can speak English only makes the situation worse. According to Spandana, at least 30 per cent of Badi Bada-enrolled pupils are returning to private schools because the transition from private to government schools is challenging due to teachers' inadequate English communication abilities.

“It is not sufficient to declare English as the medium of education. To draw more students, emphasis should be placed on raising the standard of instruction. If the infrastructure and teaching facilities are not provided, students will naturally shift back to the private schools. It's practically impossible for one teacher to supervise a group of 80 students. Due to a lack of classrooms and benches, pupils are also feeling cramped when sitting closely together,” S. Sundar, a teacher at a government school in Borabanda, said.

While teachers have been promoted to the rank of headmaster, the government has not appointed teachers in some schools. It is necessary to appoint at least a few Vidya volunteers in order to divide the class into two sections, remarked the headmaster at a government school in Shivarampet.

A significant worry is that not all Badi Bada enrolled students show up in class. There are about 180 such students in the government school in Secunderabad. “There are between 800 and 1,000 children in our school. Around 70 per cent of them attend school and periodically fewer than 50 per cent of them attend class,” said E. Suprabha, headmistress of the school.

The teachers claimed that several parents, mostly daily-wage workers, were not bothered about educating their children. Many students went back to their villages for various reasons. The headmaster of a government school expressed concern that there was little sign that many students would return to the school.