Even dropouts come back to Aralam school

KOZHIKODE: As the years pass by, Aralam Farm Government High School, a school specially dedicated to tribal children in Aralam and nearby areas is becoming overcrowded. All this is thanks to the effort put in by school officials and local people in educating the parents of these tribal kids on the importance of education. This academic year, 97 new students have been admitted to various classes excluding the first standard. School officials say that even some of the students who had dropped out had rejoined after the teachers were able to create awareness among their parents.

“The previous year the total number of students in the school was 364 which has now increased to 451”, said Sasikala, Teacher at Aralam Farm Government HS. The number of students admitted to the first standard is double that of the previous year and therefore we had to increase the divisions”, she added. Special support extended by various self governmental bodies and the government department has helped in improving the condition of the school and also in educating the tribal community about the need for education. “This year, we have bagged cent per cent victory in SSLC and all the students except two have secured more than 60 percent of the marks,” said Sasikala.  

The only concern is how many of the students who complete high school from here go for higher secondary education and how many quit studies to pursue their parent’s occupation. The Government also has plans to ensure the higher education of these tribal students here by initiating several programmes and the latest among them is the construction of a residential school, making it easy for tribal students to learn and secure respectable jobs.