Where is the classroom, Mr Commissioner?

BANGALORE: The universal truth is children do not like going to school all the time. The truth in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) schools however is, dismal infrastructure facilities is putting students off. So much so, they do not want to come to school at all.Take the case of BBMP Primary School in Malleswaram. Last  Saturday, only 30 among 80 students attended school. Teachers say that after Deepavali, only 12 students turned up at school. Teachers here, on a regular basis, visit their students’ home and persuade them to come to school. The children often stay far away from school and their parents work as vendors in local markets or as labourers.Head in-charge of the school, Dhanalakshmi says, "Children are not interested in studying and we can’t blame them as they are primary school children, who are yet to understand the value of education.Teachers say that children often leave home to come to school but do not actually attend class. And when teachers catch them, they pretend to be ill or say they were just leaving for school.   School authorities are at a loss to understand the reason and often blame it on their wards’ ‘playful innocence’.City Express took a look at the school where the students were studying, and realised the reason for the children’s lack of enthusiasm — inadequate infrastructure.  Four classrooms and five teachers make up this school, wedged next to the BBMP High School. Both schools share a campus.While sharing campus can be empathised with, class VII students share classrooms with  class VI students. Two steel cupboards divide the classrooms. The reporter saw 20 class VII students study Kannada, while six class VI students learn English simultaneously. “Sometimes, we even use the space outside classrooms to teach,” says Muddamma, a teacher with the school.  “This is true of all BBMP schools. Government and Corporation schools have poor attendance, poor performance and a basic lack of infrastructure,” explains Dhanalakshmi. But teachers are reluctant to complain in fear of a lashback. While BBMP schools are crying out for more funds, the corporation seems to be doing little to help them. “There is no dearth of funds in the Corporation. They need to prioritise better. Instead of spending unnecessary money on digging and re-laying roads, they can devote some money to schools for better infrastructure,” says A L Shivakumar, Chairman for BBMP's Standing Committee for Accounts.