Telangana Gram Panchayat threatens to deny benefits if children not enrolled in govt school

No, this is not to target out of school children – they want children already enrolled in private schools to transfer to the government schools instead.
Telangana Gram Panchayat threatens to deny benefits if children not enrolled in govt school
Telangana Gram Panchayat threatens to deny benefits if children not enrolled in govt school

In the village of Mulkanoor, under Bheemdevarpalle mandal, Warangal, the Government High Schools saw a sudden increase of at least 20 students in the past couple of days. The reason – a draconian resolution adopted by the Gram Panchayat to deny the rights of citizens to access government schemes unless they send their children to government school. The Gram Panchayat in the village threatened parents that unless the kids are enrolled in the government schools, their families will not receive birth certificates, death certificates, ration, or benefits of schemes like Rythu Bandhu unless they comply.

Just to be clear – these kids were not out of school, but were enrolled in private schools instead of government schools.

The autocratic decision was taken in a recently-held meeting between the Sarpanch, and members of the Mandal Parishad and Zilla Parishad. The resolution also included denying entry for private schools buses into the village.

Speaking to TNM, Madugula Komaraiah, Sarpanch of Mulkanoor proudly said, “The decision has been efficient, as 20 students studying in private schools joined the government school after our resolution.”

Mulkanoor has two government high schools (Class 6-10) – for boys and girls. And although there are around 1,000 children in the village, only 100 children are studying in the government schools. “We had to take this step out of fear that these schools would perish because of the dwindling number of students,” the Sarpanch said.

When questioned about the legality of these measures, the Sarpanch said that they are good decision taken “for the progress of the village.”

“How are we threatening them? Are we threatening them with sticks and knives? We are trying to bring development and progress to the village,” he said.

“When they (parents) avail all government benefits, why can’t they enroll their children in government schools as well?” Komaraiah said. 

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