MANGALURU: A Kannada medium school which was on the verge of closure a few years ago in a remote village of Bantwal taluk is now so packed that it had to turn away 150 students this academic year.Thanks to the collective efforts by villagers of Karenki, the Daddalakadu Government Higher Primary School is now up and running. The turnaround came through after the Kannada medium school decided to offer education in English, totally free of cost, to nearly 500 children.According to Prakash Anchan, a textile merchant and the man who spearheaded the turnaround along with other villagers, the school headmaster apprised village elders in 2015 that the school was on the verge of closure as the enrolments were down to a trickle. "In a rare gesture, members of Sri Durga Friends Club in the village decided to save the school by pulling out their children from English medium schools. The students were then admitted to the Kannada medium school, taking the total number of students to 56 from 36. It increased to 230 the following year, and in 2017, there were 350 children studying in the village school. In 2018, the number rose to an unbelievable 500. The school had to cap the admissions at 500 because of infrastructural limitations," said Anchan."I bet no other Kannada medium school would’ve ever sent back children stating shortage of seats. Villagers who believed that real change begins from one’s own home are to be credited with the success of the school," he added.According to Anchan, the perception that English medium schools are meant for the rich should be challenged. "We are changing that perception by providing everything free of cost to the children in this school," he said. Daddalakadu Government Higher Primary School has classes from LKG to 8. The free service includes books, uniform, education and concessional transport.In the past three years, the faculty added about 15 teachers, besides the government-appointed five. The village club pays all the 15 guest teachers. Apart from academics, children are being trained in singing, dance, yoga, computer and other extra-curricular activities. There are three buses for transportation. “We pay them salaries from our earnings and donations. No government fund has been taken so far,” said Anchan.In a nine-kilometre radius of the government school, there are about nine private English medium schools. "There was stiff resistance from them initially. We were denied permission to start an English medium but still we are fighting for it," says Anchan who is confident that the state government would back them.Daddalakadu Government Higher Primary School, started in 1979, is crying for repair and refurbishment. Work on Rs 2.5-cr infrastructure upgrade is progressing fast. “We began construction work without worrying about the funds. However, with generous donors around, funds flowed in for the work. The new building will be completed soon, and it would help us to raise the enrolments to 1000 students and add two more classes till SSLC,” said Anchan.

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