School is no longer the same

It was a picture of desolation that greeted the students of Prakashnagar Government High School in the old town of Kurnool on Monday. The students came back to slushy classrooms and a muddy ground filled with wet, shapeless books.
Incidentally, the school was one of the first to get hit by the rampaging river.
“Most of our students are from poor families and parents are wondering how to send their children back to school as they no longer have books,” says Naheeda Khan, headmistress.
The aftermath of the floods is reflected in the low strength in over 60 municipal schools in old town which was hit hard. With many families having lost everything, going back to school is the last thing on the minds of many children.

“We lost everything including jewellery that was kept aside for my sister’s marriage. I can’t go back to school now. I will have to go to work somewhere and earn money,” says Sheikh, a 13-year-old resident of Jammichettu.
Over 1,000 students of 60 government and aided schools have been badly hit, estimates T. Venkat Reddy, member of United Teachers Federation. “There are chances of parents migrating to other places and this may reflect in a drop in the student strength,” he says. Many like Dinesh, an eighth-standard student, will head to other cities to start life afresh. “My parents can’t afford to send me to an English medium school now,” says this lanky teenager, whose parents ran a tiffin centre.
Farooq Basha, headmaster of Umair Arabic High School says that least 30 per cent of the 800-odd students of his school would drop out.
Though the District Education Officer is replacing the lost books, it’s the tenth standard students who need urgent help. “We hope someone comes forth and donates question banks to them,” says a teacher.
Private schools too are struggling to bring their schools back to normalcy. “We are doing our level best to bring the school to normalcy,” says Usha Rani, correspondent, Verma High School.
K. Madhavi Latha, principal, Sri Lakshmi High School, hopes the government and other publishers would come forward and provide books for the students.
“I can’t expect all the parents to buy books as many can no longer afford it,” she says.