Nainital: A government primary school at Ghughukham of Uttarakhand's Nainital district has only a single student, who is taught by two teachers.
In the upcoming academic session, the school will go studentless as Nirmal Arya, the school's sole student who is in class 5, will join a secondary school on March 31, 2024.
The strength of students in Government Primary School, Ghughukham has witnessed a significant decrease in the last few years. In 2019-2020, there were 15 students and the strength decreased to 14 in 2020-2. In 2022-23, the strength of students decreased further to 4 and in 2024 only one student remained.
Shabana Siddiqui, one of the two teachers said parents are taking transfer certificates and enrolling their children to private schools. Those who work in faraway places shift along their families and get their children admitted to a school there. "We are continuously convincing the families to send their children here. Despite this, the number of students is continuously decreasing. If there is no admission after March 31, the student strength will become zero," she said.
Another teacher, Yashoda Rawat, who has been teaching here for the last 12 years, said that the strength has been decreasing every year. "Many people have moved out from this area while those who live here prefer to send their children to private schools in Nainital. As there is no scope of employment here, people are migrating from this area. People visit their native village only during the elections and pujas," Rawat said.
The teachers said that they have visited houses in the village and tried to convince parents to send their children to the government school. All facilities are available at the school but parents still prefer to send their kids to private schools, they said.
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