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cmyk

Hyderabad Wednesday 22 June 2011

DC
Muddu wants CBI probe into affairs of Satya Sai Baba Trust. Ramnarayana denies rift, says cant question CMs prerogative.

Panabaka asks parents to educate their girl children better.

Issues
KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE

AP FAILS TO LEARN ITS LESSONS

With a very high dropout rate in schools, Andhra Pradesh is competing with Jharkhand for the lowest rung in the literacy ladder.
L.VENKAT RAM REDDY
DC | HYDERABAD

Principal knew girls parents for long time

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD

June 21: Although Tuesday was a holiday due to a bandh called by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the principal of Little Flower Grammar School at HMT Hills in Kukatpally Housing Board Colony, Y. Sambasiva Rao had not informed the students about it. When the students started arriving in the morning, he stood in front of the gate and told them to return home. However, when the 16-yearold victim arrived, Rao

asked her to go to her class. At around 8.15 am, Rao, who stayed at the school premises with his wife and two children, entered the classroom where the girl was sitting and asked her to stay back and study. After a while he allegedly held her hands and started misbehaving with her. The girl managed to escape from his clutches and went to her house nearby and informed her father, who owns a gym and gives out trucks on rent, about the incident. Enraged by the girls account, the girls father,

along with his friends, went to the school and thrashed Rao. He was later handed over to the KPHB police. We know each other since a long time, and I never thought he would do such a thing. He betrayed me, said the girls father. KPHB police SI Mr Sri Rangam said, Following a complaint by the girls father we filed a case under Section 354 (outrage of modesty of a woman) of IPC against Sambasiva Rao and arrested him. He was remanded to judicial custody.

June 21: At the recent launch of the enrolment drive programme in schools coinciding with the beginning of the new academic year on June 13, the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, said he was ashamed to admit that Andhra Pradeshs literacy rate lagged behind all the other stat`es in south India. In fact, AP is competing with Jharkhand for a place at the bottom of the literacy ladder. The huge dropout rate in government schools in the state poses a major challenge to the government, but one it seems in no hurry to accept. The state has an unacceptably high dropout rate of 46.21 per cent at school-level. Out of every 100 students who were admitted to class I during 2000-01, only 54 reached class X in the last academic year in 2010-11. The dropout rate is higher in the case of students belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, primarily due to poverty, which forces them to work at a very early age. In the case of STs, the dropout rate is a whopping 72.66 per cent, while in the case of SCs, it is 49.68 per cent. More girls drop out of school among STs 73.77 per cent as opposed to 71.61 per cent in the case of

Boys head banged against wall

DC CORRESPONDENT
NARSAPURAM (WEST GODAVARI)

5-yr-old disabled boy killed by dad

NARENDER PULLOOR
DC | NIZAMABAD

With little or no infrastructure in 50 per cent of government schools, girl students sit on the floor and attend classes. Pathetic condition of schools is the prime reason for the huge dropout rate. DECCAN CHRONICLE

recorded a dropout rate of 56.87, Prakasam, 55.65 and Guntur recorded a dropout rate of 53.07 per cent during this period. Two districts each from the Telangana and the Andhra regions figure in the list of five districts with the highest dropout rates, the other being a district in RayK. Venugopal alaseema region. The pathetic condition of AP Teachers Federation government schools in the boys. The dropout rate state is said to be the prime among SC boys is 49.68 per reason for the huge dropout cent, and 49.67 per cent in rates. the case of SC girls. Students in government Five districts in the state schools, who constitute 88 have recorded a dropout rate lakh of the total 1.49 crore of more than 50 per cent students in the state, face a between the academic years lack of basic facilities like 2000-01 and 2010-11. toilets, drinking water, Mahbubnagar, known for power supply, benches, large-scale migration of tables, blackboards and even labour, has the highest chalk pieces. dropout rate of 59.97 per Apart from this, about cent, followed by Kurnool 10,000 school buildings are with 57.44 per cent. Medak in such a dilapidated condi-

In government schools, the dropout rate in Class V is 45 per cent; it rises to 56 per cent by Class VIII and to 63 per cent by Class X.

tion that they are a threat to the lives of students during the monsoon, said Mr N. Narayana, president of the AP United Teachers Federation. Nearly half of all government schools have a shortage of classrooms, 30 per cent of them are run in just one or two rooms, and 50 per cent of the schools have just four classrooms. There are no compound walls, which provide some measure of security, for 53 per cent of the schools, and 20 per cent dont have drinking water, while 44 per cent of schools have no toilets and 60 per cent have no separate toilets for girls. Also, 60 per cent of schools have no laboratories and 68 per cent have no kitchens in which to cook the mandatory mid-day meals. There are no toilets for girls in 50,000 government

primary, upper-primary and high schools in the state affecting 40 lakh girls. The government has failed to provide separate toilets for girls and other basic facilities even though it has been spending `1,000 crore every year on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme to improve infrastructure in schools. In government schools, the dropout rate in class V stands at 45 per cent; it increases to 56 per cent by class VIII and to 63 per cent by class X. While the schools have to function for 220 days in an academic year, they work for just 180 days due to various reasons. In primary schools there is a severe shortage of trained teachers, and in high schools there is a shortage of teachers trained in various subject, said Mr K. Venugopal, president of the AP Teachers Federation.

June 21: Alleging that a teacher of Zilla Parishad High School at Sitarampuram in West Godavari district had banged their sons head against the wall of the classroom on Monday because he had failed to answer a question, his parents staged a dharna near the school on Tuesday demanding the teacher be suspended. The parents and relatives of Class IX student, V. Rakhil, alleged that he had suffered head injuries when the Hindi teacher, Mr Y. Venkata Ratnam, punished the boy. The Narsapuram mandal educational officer, Mr P.N.V. Prasad, said action would be taken against the teacher.

June 21: In a shocking incident, a man killed his fiveyear-old disabled son at Domakonda mandal headquarters on Monday night. The incident came to light on Tuesday as the boys body was found in the water tank. The police arrested the accused after a complaint lodged by the boys grandmother. According to sources, Andhe Swamy of Domakonda and his second wife, Godavari, had adopted an abandoned disabled

child five years ago as Godavari was unable to conceive. The couple named the child Aravind. However, Swamy was finding it difficult to take care of Aravind after Godavaris recent death. On Monday, he had thrown the boy into the water and Aravind had died. On getting to know of this, Swamys mother, Ms Andhe Lakshmi, who had been looking after Aravind, lodged a complaint. The Bhiknoor CI, Mr Karunakar Reddy, said, We will check the role played by other family members in the case.

Speeding truck kills 10-yr-old

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD

Cops told to act tough on autos

U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
DC | HYDERABAD

Poverty leads to more dropouts

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD

DROPOUT RATES
All figures in per cent
AP: 46.21 Mahbubnagar district

June 21: Children are dropping out of school and being denied an education for many reasons. In the case of boys, the main reason is financial. In poor families boys need to be productive and earn money. If exam results are poor and poor children are at a disadvantage when it comes to studies its considered more worthwhile to pull the boy out of school and make him earn a living. In the case of girls the reasons are also cultural. Girls are married off early, which can mean an end to their education. Even otherwise, girls are required to attend to household chores and look after younger siblings. Education for girls is considered expendable since marriage is the sole goal. An important cause for children dropping out of school is the belief that education is unnecessary. Its difficult to refute this given the poor quality of education, both in terms of content and methodology. The curriculum does not equip children with the skills that they require. Work based practical learning that provides children with the skills necessary to start working by the age of 16-18 years will ensure a low dropout rate. Currently, such work-based training is limited to the

has the highest dropout rate of 59.97 Five districts have dropout rate of more than 50 SCs: 49.68 Girls: 49.67 Boys: 49.68 STs: 72.66 Girls: 73.77 Boys: 77.67 Only 54 per cent of students who were admitted in Class I during 2000-01 reached Class X during the last academic year, 2010-11 50,000 government primary, upper-primary and high schools have no toilets for 40 lakh girl students Schools have to function for 220 days in an academic year, but they are working for just 180 days Industrial Training Institutes, Industrial Training Centres, and some private vocational training institutes. It should be extended to all government schools, says Ms Kavitha Kiran, principal of a government high school. A massive upgrade is needed in the infrastructure of government schools, which are currently hardly conducive to learning anything.

June 21: A 10-year-old boy was run over by a speeding truck at Qutubullapur under the Dundigal police station limits on Tuesday. According to sources, the victim, Raj Kumar, was walking to school at 8.30 am with five of his friends when the lorry hit him from behind. His entire body was crushed and he died on the spot. Kumar was a Class IV student of D. Pochamma Government School. He was the eldest child of his parents and had two younger brothers. Rajs father, Mr Tourya Kumar, said: I saw him in the morning at breakfast and had planned to take him out in the evening. I was shocked when I got a call from my relatives informing me of the accident. He was a bright student and had a good future. One of Rajs friends, who was at the accident spot said, I did not know what to do; we just ran away to inform my uncle, who was standing at the bus-stop close by; it happened in less than a second. By the time people had gathered at the accident spot at the Rajeshwari Tjunction, the lorry driver had escaped. The vehicle bearing the plate number AP-28-T-4316 was travelling from Gandimaisamma to Narsapur road. The sub-inspector, Mr M. Madhusudhan, of the Dundigal police station said, The mistake lies with the lorry driver who was speeding at the T-junction where he was required to slow down. We have seized the vehicle and are looking for the driver. We have booked a case under Section 304A.

June 21: The Road Safety cell of the state police has issued memos to all the commissioners and SPs asking them to prevent road accident deaths of schoolchildren. The cell ordered that no autorickshaw should carry more than five children and no one must be allowed to sit next to the autorickshaw driver. Movement of heavy vehicles too has been banned in school zones. Moreover, the schools have to provide parking facility for the autorickshaws within the school premises. The additional DGP (road safety), Mr T. Krishna Prasad, said: In the past few days, a number of accidents took place in which children were killed. The SPs and CPs have been asked to take specific steps to prevent casualties and injuries among schoolkids. Police has been told to hold meetings with schools, parents, and auto drivers and highlight the seriousness of the situation. School bags should not be hung outside the auto. A mesh should be present on the right side of the auto. School auto stickers should be pasted in rear and front of the vehicle. Drivers of school autos should be fit and alert. Fitness of school buses and autos must be as per the RTA rules, he said.

SHRC: Hold surprise raid on autos

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD

June 21: The acting chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission, Mr K. Peda Peri Reddy, on Tuesday said the traffic officials should conduct surprise raids on autorickshaws carrying more than six children. Reacting to the rising number of accident cases involving schoolchildren, Mr Reddy placed some of the blame on the the parents as well. While sending the kids to school, the parents can see that the autorickshaw is overloaded. However, they neither warn the autorickshaw driver, nor do they stop sending their children in the same vehicle, he said. Mr Reddy pointed out that the parents have no control over their wards and are buying them whatever they ask for. He said several children zoom about in their two- and four-wheelers. Meanwhile, the condition of Bharath, the eight-yearold boy who was injured when a seven-seater overturned, is stable. The police filed a case against Nagaraju, the driver of the vehicle.

Rich kids blackmail parents for joyrides

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD

June 21: Parents of children, who have been caught speeding on city roads, admitted that they were often blackmailed by their underage wards to allow them to drive the vehicles. This fact was revealed by several parents during coun-

selling sessions held by traffic police. A majority of the parents were even unaware that their children mostly boys were driving the vehicles themselves. The ACP, traffic, Mr Ashok Kumar, said teenagers often threaten their parents in order to drive the vehicles.