BICHOLIM: Marathi medium government primary schools in Bicholim and Sattari villages have suffered a setback on account of low enrolment, caused due to relocation of people and shifting of students from village schools to English medium schools in the towns.

This newly-developed trend amongst the rural parents has given rise to apprehensions over existence of Marathi medium schools in villages in the future.

There are many such schools, which are on the verge of closure, due to poor enrolment. For instance, the government primary school at Tulsimal-Parye at Sattari has only two students on roll, one in class II while other in class III. There are no students enrolled for I and IV standards.

Further, the school has one full-time teacher catering to both the students.  If these two students remain absent for some reason or the other, the school remains literally ‘closed’ on that particular day.

This fact has been brought to the notice of the concerned educational authorities but till date no steps have been taken to revive such schools. Due to this, schools with abnormally low enrolments results in wasteful expenditure besides under-utilisation of the staff posted there. It has also been the case that some schools here are suffering due to posting of less teachers.

Going by this trend, parents have expressed concerns over the bleak situation of Marathi- medium schools in the villages, with most of them opting for aided English medium primary schools in city areas, to ensure a bright future of their children.