Rush for admissions in Madurai corpn schools, Trichy govt HSS

Madurai/Trichy: There has been a significant increase in the number of students who joined schools run by Madurai corporation with enrolment increasing by 148% compared to the average admission in previous years. Similarly, in Trichy, government higher secondary schools have added 3,000 more students instead of roughly 500 every year.

Officials in Madurai say the corporation used to get 2000 to 2,500 students every year, but this year 6,206 students have already joined as of August 8. “There would have been easily 200 admissions since Saturday. Schools are seeing more than 50 admissions every day,” an official from the education department said. Schools like Elango corporation higher secondary school have been seeing unusually high number of admission from students who were studying in matriculation schools. Some students have come from CBSE schools as well. Teachers say that the increase was due to financial problems faced by parents. A teacher from Elango School said, “Most parents say they cannot pay fees in matriculation schools. Our school is gaining popularity since safety and infrastructure facility are akin to private schools, thanks to HCL foundation.”

Schools like Kakkai Padiniyar Girls Higher Secondary School Madurai said they are already getting a good response despite the fact that a major chunk of the school’s strength is contributed by hostels and girls’ home. P Vijaya, corporation educational officer, said “we are equipped with adequate teacher strength and infrastructure facility to meet the increasing enrolment this year. Even if some schools have run out of capacity, we will admit the students in nearby corporation school,” she said. Sharmila Banu, head of Ponmudiyar corporation HSS said there is a huge demand for class nine admission in particular.

In Trichy, district chief education officer S Santhi said there is an overall increase in admission to government schools which will go on till the month-end and was likely to increase. Besides the impact of Covid-19, the revised syllabus on par with other boards like CBSE had instilled confidence in parents to admit their children to government schools, she said.

D Thirumavalavan, PG teacher from government HSS S Ayyampalayam, said unlike in lower classes, private schools charged hefty fee for higher secondary. Many could not afford it this year due to the pandemic and were shifting to government schools, he said.

Top private CBSE schools in Trichy charge anywhere between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh as the fee for higher secondary classes a year. An average school on the outskirts charge not less than Rs 60,000 and popular matriculation schools Rs 40,000-60000. Though admissions to government schools started late this year, there was good reception from parents. Some popular government primary schools in the city had admitted over 100 students in class I alone.