Few takers for model schools of Ranchi

RANCHI: With an objective to improve quality of teaching and standard of education in the state, the school education and literacy department, earlier the human resource department, had laid the foundation of 89 model schools in 24 districts of the state way back in 2012.
Ten years down the line, a test check of the condition of the schools in the capital reveals a dismal picture. The schools not only has infrastucture shortfall and paucity of teachers but also lack students.
The ocupancy in Ranchi schools is a mere 17% with a few among them struggling to get even a single student. There are eight government model schools in Ranchi - for classes VI to XII - all English-medium where admissions are taken through an entrace test.
These model schools were supposed to maintain teacher-pupil ratio of 1:40 and accordingly every school has a fixed student strength of 280 with 40 students in each class.
The occupancy in six schools of Ranchi is as low as 297 whereas the number of seats available is 1,680.
Model schools differ from general schools as they are English-medium and students have to take an entrance exam conducted by the Jharkhand Academic Council in order to be admitted.
The eight model schools in Ranchi district are one each in Bero, Chanho, Lapung, Mandar, Namkum, Angara, Burmu and Kanke but three of these schools have not got a single admission this session and also, they have not admitted any student in Class XI since the time of inception of the school almost a decade ago.
Talking to TOI, Alok Dutta, principal of Model School, Lapung, said, "Every year, enrolment at the model school is extremely low, and this year, not a single student has turned up for admission in Class VI. The absence of basic infrastructure and facilities, as well as the school's remote location from the surrounding villages, discourages parents from getting their wards admitted here. There is a paucity of subject-specific teachers for classes XI and XII, therefore, no admission has been taken in these classes since the establishment of the school."
Being wary of the poor enrollment in the model schools, the education department has asked the schools to take admissions with the assistance of the school management committee (SMC) and conduct entrance tests at the school level.
Kaushal Kishore, additional district programme officer, said, "The paucity of teachers at the model school is the primary cause for the vacant seats. However, the government has requested the SMC to collaborate with the school to ensure admission for students to the model schools."
Similarly, students did not turn up for admission at the Model School of Burmu because the road leading to the school is in poor shape and there is a drain next to the school. The school has also not got any admission for this session.
Athar Alam, teacher of Model School, Burmu, said, "Due to the lack of a road leading to the school and the absence of adequate infrastructure, relatively few children enroll at this school. There are no students in classes VI, VII, or VIII, and there are only five in class IX and 11 in class XI."
At Model School Mandar, there are only 12 students from classes VI to XII. There are no students enrolled in Class VI, VII and IX and only one student in class VIII and 11 students at Class X.
Mushrath Pravin, principal of Model School, Mandar, said, "As there is only one student registered in Class VIII at the school, she doesn't want to attend class despite our efforts to persuade her and our conversations with her parents. All classes are empty during school hours with the exception of Class X which has 11 students."
Secretary, school education and literacy, K Ravi Kumar, said, "The department is putting together the necessary components for the development."