PONDA: With parents preferring to admit their wards in private schools for “better prospects”, the government primary schools in Ponda taluka are facing extinction; and 35 schools have been shut down in the last seven years alone.
The latest one to be shut down was the Government Primary School at Dutalem, Marcaim, as it failed to attract even a single student this academic year.
According to the education department officials, the Marcaim school did not get a new admission for the last three consecutive years.
It is also learnt that the schools at Undir-Bandora, Khajorda-Borim, Murdi-Khandepar and Galwada-Priol have student strength of 3, 6, 9 and 7, respectively. The locals fear that these four schools may be closed down next year, as it is the policy of the government to close down schools having less than 10 students.
Ponda taluka had 141 government primary schools in 2012-13, but now only 106 are in operation; the combined student strength of these schools is 3100.
Of the 35 extinct schools, nine were closed down in 2013-14; four in 2014-15; seven in 2015-16; six in 2016-17; three in 2017-18, five in 2018-19 and one is closed down for the 2019-20 academic year.
Meanwhile, the government primary schools at Opewal in Priol and Magilwada are going through repairs work and the students have been shifted to other places till the repair work is completed.
