MANGALURU: Some of the English-Kannada (bilingual) medium schools in Dakshina Kannada have recorded three-fold to four-fold admissions. In total, 82 bilingual schools have admitted a total of 2,619 children to class I, as on June 10.
According to rules, only 30 students are allowed to be accommodated in each class. However, with growing demand, a few schools have admitted all those who applied for admission.
The Government Higher Primary School, Derlakatte, tops the district in admissions, with 132 students being admitted to class I this academic year. In total, the school has 432 children studying from class I to IV. Second on this list is the Government Higher Primary School, Daddalkad in Bantwal taluk. The school ranks first in terms of number of students enrolled, and has a total 495 students studying in the bilingual medium. The school has admitted 129 students this year.
Regarding the large number of admissions in some schools, Prashanth Kumar, BEO, South, said that at the school in Derlakatte, the admissions were high, due to the School Development Management Committee (SDMC). “Through the SDMC initiative, they started LKG and UKG classes on campus, and hired good teachers. As a result, the parents of the children who completed their UKG at the school, felt the quality of education imparted at the school was good, and did not enrol them in private schools, but allowed them to continue in the government school itself. The SDMC has also improved school infrastructure, and appointed an additional three teachers. Some other schools, such as Thiruvail and Munnur, emulate the Derlakatte model,” he said. “The efforts of SDMC members is playing a crucial role in high demand for some bilingual schools in the district,” he added.
An official from the department of public instruction pointed out that a large number of admissions have been recorded only in schools that have LKG or UKG classes, and SDMCs that are functioning well. “Parents who prefer sending their children to bilingual schools, do a careful survey before enrolling their children in them. However, they do not think twice while admitting their wards to private English medium schools,” the official said.
While some schools recorded two to threefold admission, close to 25 schools have seen less than 20 admissions, and among them, half-a-dozen schools have recorded admissions in single-digit figures. Officials said that the total number of admissions is likely to go up, as the admission process is on till the end of July.
