One is surprised to witness that the government schools’ strength is decreasing from tertiary level to higher classes day by day! They are on the verge of closing down. We must not allow this to happen, instead, we ought to work together to bring back its past glory. First, awareness should be raised among parents who are reluctant to keep their children in government school because of many untold reasons.

Before addressing these issues, let us put some basic questions:

• What is the root cause of declining admissions in the government school?
• Is the problem due to teachers or parents and the government?
• What solutions should be implemented?

 Everyone should support the progress of the government school, irrespective of caste or creed. These schools used to produce successful individuals like business magnets, scientists and doctors. In the past, there was an unprecedented growing demand for government schools. However, this enthusiasm has evaporated. 

Now, the trend has been disappeared, and parents’ expectations have been increased due to changes in the current education policies and curricula. Consequently, many prefer private schools believing they offer better opportunities. To meet parental expectations, government schools should establish the multimedia labs, advanced science labs, and computer labs and all that. Besides, sports and extracurricular activities should be encouraged daily on school premises.   

In contemporary times, private schools are emerging like mushrooms in nook and corner of the state. Governments also give permissions to private schools perpetually. As a result, every street has a private school where the qualified teachers are not appointed, and no standard way of teaching will be taken place as government schools proliferate the quality of teaching.  

Teachers should focus on student’s all-round development, making follow up visit to their homes. The root cause of declining admissions lies in government schools failing to meet parents’ expectation in every realm of life. 

After rudimentary education, parents worry about the competitive exams like NEET, JEE and EAMCET for admission into premier institutions like IITs and NIT’s. Studying in these institutions is a privilege in getting the placement with handsome salary in multinational companies in India as well as abroad.  

  The responsibility for the school welfare lies not only with politicians but also equally with the village elders. One should understand why school enrolments are currently falling. It is of course because of many concealed reasons that have led to the dropouts in the school.

In the past, government schools used to be the embodiment of an ambassador in shaping the lives of children. They were so influential that they would attract and admit pupils from different sections of the society. Subsequently, these schools set up themselves as instrumental in witnessing successful individuals in various fields. This problem is not confined to one particular village school but in all villages across Telangana.

It is nevertheless a collective effort to improve the quality of education, Ultimately, this effort depends on government officials monitoring progressively ensuring that classes are conducted in English. Many parents prefer to enrol their children in English-medium schools, as English is mandatory in contemporary times. Despite introducing English medium classes, the enrolment is poor in all classes in the schools. It is already late to get into the introspection where the problem lies upon and what best can be done to improve the admissions in Government schools?

The best thing is to improve the enrolment inculcating English speaking skills, Sports and extracurricular activities. Students are encouraged to speak in English on something every day before the morning assembly.  A special class is arranged every day on communication skills such as the story telling, the English newspaper reading and special orientation classes on IIT foundation. This sort of training obviously draws the attention of parents to admit them in Government schools.

However, parents should take the initiative to enrol their children in government schools, where qualified teachers are employed. Any shortcomings in the school should be addressed and improved upon. Ultimately, the responsibility does not lie solely with political leaders; it involves every individual in the village. We should seriously consider what can be done to enhance school enrolment.

The school headmaster should contact former students for their insights and suggestions to benefit the school. The feedback from former students could lead to significant improvements. The principal should hold monthly parent-teacher meetings to address students' learning progress. Ultimately, sustaining government schools requires a collective effort in every aspect.

In the age of smart phones, kids show a strong aversion to reading books as they are constantly operating electronic devices like TVs and mobiles after school. While they encounter reading, it can be challenging for them to choose a book over a smart phone. The constant use of smart phones sabotages children's creative thinking, and they choose shortcuts in acquiring knowledge about their content subjects. If smart phone usage prevails continuously, would the future of youth be highly questionable?

A library is a growing organism. The library should be set up in the school premises where the competitive examination books, story books, inspiring books, and autobiographies of great national leaders should be made accessible in the library, and it should remain open for 24 hours. If adequate infrastructure is arranged in the library, readers will get used to staying and read books. It is a amazing place to transform one’s life.

At the right time, children should be trained properly in school per se in all points of view. The school foundation would change the students’ future career. So, the schoolteachers need to teach all sorts of subjects including life lessons which do help them in daily life. For which the schoolteachers are fondly remembered throughout their life for nurturing the great skills in life. School life lays the foundation for a lifelong career. However, it is the sole responsibility of teachers and parents to protect the government schools. 

As the Telangana government invites international companies to invest the lakhs of rupees as part of financial support. It should also establish an expert committee to look into the root cause of the decline of government schools. This committee should visit the countries like Finland, Singapore, Canada, Denmark and Japan, which are known for promoting the quality of education from tertiary level to higher classes very effectively. If the government demonstrates this commitment, government schools will gain its past glory and provide enduring hope.

Long may it be so!