7-year-old girl keeps government school running in Karnataka despite being its only student
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Bengaluru: A seven-year-old girl is single-handedly keeping the Government Lower Primary School in Maddevahalli village, Tumakuru, from closing down.
Manasa, the only student enrolled in the school, will enter Class 2 and is ensuring the school continues to operate, as reported by Deccan Herald on Thursday.
The 25-year-old school has just one student, one teacher, and one cook. Manasa is the daughter of school’s cook Ramya, who shared that poverty made her overlook the lure of nearby private schools.
According to officials of the Department of School Education and Literacy, this school was popular 10 years ago but the increase in the number of private schools nearby resulted in zero admissions to this school. “In fact, the village itself has a mere 35 to 40 households. Even the number of children eligible to be enrolled in schools is low,” Krishnappa C.N., Block Education Officer of Sira taluk, told DH.
Despite efforts from education officials to move Manasa to another nearby government school, her parents refused, citing the difficulty of traveling 7-8 km by public transport.
The teacher, Padmakka, shared that she started working at the school in 2021 when there were 10 students. She added that after normalcy returned with the end of the COVID pandemic, four students withdrew their admissions and six passed out. “This student was admitted in the 2024-25 academic year for class 1,” she said.
The school continues to provide all government schemes and facilities, including mid-day meals and eggs for Manasa. Meanwhile, Padmakka hopes to enroll another student for the coming academic year. “There is one student in the anganwadi who is now eligible to get admission to Class 1. I am convincing her parents to admit the child in our school,” she added.
Manasa told DH that she sometimes feels lonely. “When there is no class, I have no one to play with. But my teacher plays with me and also keeps me engaged in music and art classes,” Manasa mentioned.
Notably, the school did not close for a single day in the last one year except on public holidays with neither the teacher nor student availing leave for a single day in the entire academic year.
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CJI Surya Kant clarifies 'parasites' remarks, says 'pained' over media reports
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday issued a strongly worded clarification on his 'parasites' remarks, saying he was "pained" by media reports that suggested he criticised youth.
"I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday," the CJI said in a statement.
Kant emphasised that his remarks were specifically directed at individuals entering the legal profession through "fake and bogus degrees" and were "misquoted by a section of the media."
The clarification follows a controversy during a hearing on Friday, when the CJI used words like "parasites" and "cockroaches" while pulling up a lawyer for his plea seeking senior designation.
"What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites.
"It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation. Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. It is not an exaggeration to say that Indian youth have great regard and respect for me, and I too see them as the pillars of a developed India," the chief justice said about his remarks.
