VIJAYAWADA: The closure of aided schools started in AP due to stopping of government aid and further surrender of teaching staff to the government. The six decades-old famous Children’s Montessori High School closed at Vijayawada. The closure of the aided schools is forcing parents to join their children in other schools and the government instructed the officials to provide admissions to these students in the nearby government schools.
According to the officials of the state education department, there are about 2,000 private aided schools in AP state and around 2.5 lakh students are studying in various schools across the state and in all 6,700 teachers are working in various private aided schools in the state. With the government’s decision more than 75 per cent of students studying in the aided schools will have to join other government schools very shortly.
The Montessori High School is one of the oldest schools in Vijayawada city which was established in 1954 and has a history of more than six and half decade that has produced many stalwarts till date and will have to pull down their shatters very soon. The co-education school has a strength of 450 students at present in both English and Telugu media for classes 8, 9 and 10. The school has 13 aided teachers and will be taken over by the state government.
Ex-students of Montessori High School said that this educational institution had produced many doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers and other professionals. They recalled that founder of the school V. Koteswaramma got Padma Shri award at the age of 92 years for her relentless services to the education sector in the year 2017 and she passed away in 2019. They deplored that the famous educational institution is going to close which is very sad and sought that the government should take measures to preserve best-aided schools.
Parents B. Rama Rao and A Venkat said that they have planned to provide world’s top rated Montessori education through this school but sadly their dreams shattered with the closure of the school. They said Montessori is icon of not only Vijayawada city but Icon of AP State as people from various areas got education in this institution. They said that now they are forced to join their children in other schools and their children have to adjust to the new atmosphere.
Montessori Educational Institutions Secretary and Correspondent, A Rajeev, said the 67-year-old school will be closed soon, abiding to the government decision to take over the aided staff. He said the school is run as a charity and they do not charge a penny from the students as most of the students come from poor and middle-class background families. He stated that they have decided to close the school and are issuing transfer certificates to the students and their parents well in advance after the GO was issued by the government. He added that mapping of schools was done and there are about five schools within five kilometres radius from their school and the students can get admission in any of them.
Mr. Rajeev, welcoming the decision of the state government of taking over the aided school staff into government fold has said that the decision would impart quality English medium education in government schools.
