Ludhiana: Increase enrolment in govt schools, heads told

The district education office has directed the heads of government schools, especially the ones with negative enrolments, to secure more admissions for the new academic session before June 30.

However, district education officer (DEO) Harjinder Singh said despite nearly 300 government schools with negative enrolment, Ludhiana district stands at position three, with only Fazilka and Patiala ahead in terms of enrolments.

Singh said to bring Ludhiana to the top position, the government schools have been directed to conduct enrolment drives. “The enrolments of the entire state have been affected due to early holidays but still we have tried to manage the overall number. In April, the enrolments in the district were 24,000 but within a month, the number changed to 27,000, a straight increase of 3,000 enrolments,” he informed.

He mentioned that the department has been proactive about the enrolments and the number of newly admitted students in various schools is shared in WhatsApp groups to promote healthy competition.

“We try to know the reason behind fewer enrolments in a particular school so that it can be rectified and each school is given a timebound target,” he added. The DEO said they have also been instructed to cater to the students who are approaching them during summer break. “Non-teaching staff present in the schools are in charge of completing the formalities after consulting with the admission committee of the school,” he informed.

A principal of one of the schools listed under negative enrolments said it is difficult to manage a 10% increase in the number of students in the same vicinity. “I already have nearly 120 students in each section of Class 11 and 12, where will I accommodate more students? Students can hardly breathe during summertime due to small classrooms with hundreds of students. These enrolment targets pose an additional burden on the schools,” the principal said.

Highlighting the issue of timings, Balwinder Kaur, principal of Government Model School, PAU, remarked, “We have an adjoining primary school which starts one hour later than our school, which is why most of the primary students prefer that school over ours.”

She added that the number of students stands at 4,479 at present and the enrolments have decreased in the primary classes only and informed that around eight of the rooms in the school have been occupied with election-related equipment which they hope will be vacated soon.

“Few of the parents have withdrawn the registration of their kids as they question the availability of space to accommodate more students,” she said. The principal added that the announcements seeking more children for admissions have been made in the gurdwaras and the same has been shared on her social media accounts to attract as many students as possible.