The 48-day-long wait of the Konda Reddi tribe has come to an end with the arrival of a teacher to run the Government Primary School (GPS) at Munta Mamidi village in Rampa agency of Alluri Sitarama Raju district. The tribe is categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Andhra Pradesh.
The school remained shut since the commencement of the academic year (June 14) affecting the education of at least 28 children (5-10 age group) in the village. No teacher was willing to work here as claimed by the officials concerned. Falling in the Left Wing Extremist-affected zone, the village is nearly 40 kilometres away from Maredumilli, the mandal headquarters.
Responding to a report published in The Hindu on July 30 headlined ‘A school without teachers in Andhra Pradesh’s tribal village’, the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA-Rampachodavaram) appointed a government teacher on August 1.
“On August 1, we deputed a teacher (Secondary Grade Teacher (SGT) K. Babu Rao) from our school to reopen the GPS-Munta Mamidi following directions from the higher officials of the ITDA-Rampachodavaram. However, he will come back to our school once a regular teacher is sent there,” said G. Tulasi Das, the headmaster of the Government Tribal Welfare Ashram School, Bodlanka, which is about 10 km from Munta Mamidi.
However, Munta Mamidi is not a lone case. In Maredumilli mandal alone, 10 more government schools were yet to get teachers by August 5, denying scores of tribal students, mostly of Konda Reddi tribe, the right to access primary education.
Proposals sent
“Last week, we sent a proposal to the ITDA-Rampachodavaram to appoint teachers for the 10 Government Primary Schools (GPS) which do not have them so far,” Maredumilli mandal in-charge Education Officer B. Tamma Rao told The Hindu. Turruvada, Pamulamamidi 1 and 2, Boosivada, Chavadikota, Tenelamamidi and Boddumaamidi were among them, he said.
According to the Education Department officials of the ITDA-Rampachodavaram, government teachers are not willing to work in the interior tribal habitations, given the challenges in the field.
