Govt school teachers launch early admission drive in Mysuru

Mysuru: For the first time, govt teachers are going all out in their efforts to bring more students to their school by launching an admission drive for the next academic year in Feb. Otherwise, they start admission promotions in June.School teachers are carrying out special drives highlighting the facilities available in their schools, including English-medium education, to reach out to the communities to ensure that there are enough students to save their jobs.According to sources in the education department, total admissions in the district are expected to fall in govt schools for Class 1 from an average of 35,000 to 32,000 this year due to various factors, including a fall in the birth rate and the mandatory age of six years for admission to Class 1.Teachers say the early campaign aims to ensure adequate enrolment before the academic year begins. Many schools fear that if the number of students falls, teachers could be declared surplus and transferred elsewhere. As a result, several schools launched aggressive campaigns to attract students well in advance. Teachers are visiting neighbourhoods, interacting with parents, and highlighting facilities available in govt schools to improve admissions.The headmaster of a govt school said that all these years, the admission drive was carried out after the school reopening. "But this year, all schools started the drive early, before the holiday for anganwadis, where we get more students," he said."In urban areas, it is really difficult to get more students due to various factors, including the mushrooming of private schools. We are promoting our school with various facilities, including English-medium education. As low enrollment may result in school closure and other challenges, we want to ensure more enrollment of students," he said.Mysuru DDPI D Uday Kumar informed that, to ensure that schools get good admissions in the new academic year starting in May or June, the schools launched the admission drive well in advance.