KOCHI: Niranjana M S, a Class III student of Chettyalathoor
Government LP School
located two-and-a-half kilometres inside the
forests in Noolpuzha panchayat
in Wayanad, dreams of becoming a teacher.
However, her dream is likely to remain unfulfilled as the
18 tribal students
of the school have very limited opportunities to continue their studies after Class IV. The nearest UP school is at Pazhoor, 12km away from their village and is accessible only through a forest path frequented by elephants.
Niranjana's village is inhabited by Wayanadan Chettis and tribal communities of Kuruma, Paniya and Kattunaikka. With a population of around 300, the entire village functions on solar power as the villagers do not have permission to draw electric line through forest. Cheeral, the nearest town is 15km away. The villagers rely on two local jeeps to reach outside the forest. The school in Chettyalathoor was opened in 1981 after two children, who were on their way to the nearest LP school at Pattavayal in Tamil Nadu, were killed in an elephant attack. The villagers themselves then bought the land and handed it over to the government for opening an LP school.
The school now has 18 students, three teachers and a headmaster. However, the authorities have been ignoring the demand of villagers and teachers for a UP school. As a result most of the children here miss out on higher education. The few who move out of the village and stay in tribal hostels have been forced to return as they find it difficult to adjust to an alien atmosphere at a very young age.
"We help children secure admission at residential schools for
tribal children
in Cheeral, Ambalavayal and Vakeri, which are at a distance of around 15km, 30km and 35km respectively from the village. However, these schools cannot accommodate all the children as their hostels are overcrowded," says S Radhakrishnan, who had served as the headmaster of the school in Chettyalathoor for six years till he retired in 2012.
"Early in the morning we used to go to each child's home and pick them up. Sitting under bamboo trees, we taught them lessons," recounts Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan had introduced morning meals scheme in the school in 2007, a year before the state government implemented it in all government schools. State government recognized his efforts by honouring him with the best primary teacher award in 2011. "They have rejected our demand for Class V and a residential facility as the forest department wants to relocate the village. The future of the school and the kids will be affected unless the authorities do something," he says.
Radhakrishnan remembers the days he used to travel 8km by bus and then walk two-and-a-half kilometers through the
forest braving wild animals
, to reach the school. The present headmaster, however, makes a guest appearance. Of the two posts of permanent teachers, one remains vacant as no one has been willing to work in a place cut off from the outside world.
District collector B S Thirumeni said he did not visit the school though he had visited the village last month. "I will visit the school and assess the situation," he said. "Plans are on to build a tribal residential school in Sultan Bathery taluk. We are in the process of identifying land for it," said district tribal development officer V S Madhu.