Sans teachers, amenities, tribal students suffer

NAMAKKAL: In Namakkal district, a school run by the Adi-Dravidar Welfare Department has no post-graduate teachers to handle classes for Class XII students and lacks proper sanitation facilities affecting girl students badly.The Government Tribal Residential School is situated atop the Kolli hills. The school at Chengari caters to the needs of the tribal students. As many as 290 students are studying in the school, which was upgraded to higher secondary level a couple of years ago. In the 2010-11 academic year, 29 students appeared for the Class X public examination and 21 students passed.According to sources, 10  students are studying in Class XII. There are no post-graduate teachers to handle classes for these students. The school has no proper sanitation facilities which forces girls students to bathe before dawn. Besides, the school does not have water supply. Locals allege that the welfare department and the School Education Department were not showing any interest in appointing teachers. Since the parents of the students are poor, they depend on the school for education to their wards. The school administration has employed “special teachers”, who are paid only `2,000 as monthly remuneration, to handle classes for the Class XII students.When contacted N Ramachandran, District Adi-Dravidar Welfare Officer, said since he has been posted recently, and he had to ascertain the conditions of the schools and then make proposals to the government to address the issues.