The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Much-sought-after institution

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Much-sought-after institution

T.S. Ranganna

The students mainly come from poor families and backward classes

All attention: Students of the government school at K.R. Puram in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: Students, mostly from the villages in the surroundings of Hoskote, Devanahalli and Nandagudi in Bangalore Rural district and Malur, Chintamani, Srinivasapura and Kolar in Kolar district come all the way to Krishnarajapuram for pursuing their high school and college education, unmindful of the distance. Students travel more than 20 km in crowded buses.

The Government First Grade College here, which has a strength of 1,200, has only 12 rooms, where 26 sections are held.

It is facing shortage of furniture and teachers. The college, which has 20 students in M.A. (Kannada), has bagged two ranks each in the last two years.

K.V. Deepa and K.P. Kavita of Hoskote and N. Anitha and K.M. Parvathi of Nandagudi said they travelled 11 km and 20 km respectively, because of the good coaching. B.V. Mahesh of Devanahalli, a Dalit, endorses their view. Most students want to take up M.A. in Political Science, but the Government is yet to sanction it.

Although there are government first grade colleges in most of the 176 taluks, the college at K.R. Puram stands out. The number of students was only 32 in 1991 and it has shot up to 1,400 now. It achieved 97 per cent results and a majority of the students scored first class, and has been acclaimed by the National Accreditation Assessment Council (NAAC) with a certificate of appreciation. The students mainly come from poor families and backward classes.

College principal V. Chandrashekhar attributed it to the “activist” role played by the former Minister A. Krishnappa in transforming K.R. Puram into a hub of academic and economic activity in the district.

Behind all this there is a horrifying story. Tens of children, who were studying in the lone government primary school by the side of National Highway 4, have been killed in road accidents over a period of time, according to G.R. Lakshmikantaiah, headmaster of the Government Primary School.

Vice-Principal of the Composite College, M.T. Musthasin, said the classrooms were over-crowded and every year the results were improving. More than 50 per cent of the students were girls.

Mr. Krishnappa said the schools used to conduct classes in temple verandahs at K.R. Puram, where he studied. He said he had seen how children and police traffic constables were killed by vehicles and had thought of shifting the school to a government building, when he became an MLA in 1985. But he could not find a site or a building.

After a long battle, he was able to get a plot of 70 acres away from the National Highway where government buildings had come up, including schools and colleges.

He said donations had been received for construction of buildings, furniture, and to set up a computerised library and a laboratory estimated at Rs. 5 crore. Governor Rameshwar Thakur, who recently visited K.R. Puram, was requested to provide staff and more rooms.

Mr. Krishnappa said that an auditorium was on the cards and he had sanctioned Rs. 90 lakh from the MLA’s fund.

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