42 Dakshina Kannada schools receive zero admission, set to shut soon

MANGALURU: At least 42 government, aided and unaided schools in Dakshina Kannada district will down the shutters permanently as they have received zero admissions for two straight years in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
According to officials from the department of public instruction, there are multiple reasons for zero admissions: Poor infrastructure and closure of schools to promote unaided schools situated on the same campus being the two prime factors.
Shambhu Shankar, coordinator, block resource centre, Belthangady, said aided schools receive poor admissions due to lack of appealing infrastructure, not enough trained teachers, failure to maintain quality of education and no support from management.
"All these factors have led to the slow death of schools, especially when it comes to aided schools. Whereas unaided or private schools shut down purely due to management issues and the sale of schools. Government schools wind up operations due to poor admissions and the mushrooming of private schools in the vicinity," he said. Dakshina Kannada DDPI Sudhakar K said zero admissions carry an ominous message that the permanent closure is on the anvil.