Kids in Erode hamlets leave for school at 5am, return at 10pm

V Senthil KumaranTNN | Updated: Jan 4, 2018, 
At least 18 girls and 14 boys of Gundri region in Erode take the long ride to school every day.At least 18 girls and 14 boys of Gundri region in Erode take the long ride to school every day.
GUNDRI (ERODE DISTRICT): If you are worried the school regimen is stressing your child, digest this: children from 26 hamlets surrounding Gundri in Erode district start for school every day around 5am and get back home at 10pm. The only bus that takes them to their school at Kadambur, 19km away, arrives at Gundri at 5.30am. If they miss the bus, it means an arduous trek through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve to attend school for the day.
When reports about the children's punishing routine first trickled in, the rest of the world found it too incredulous to be true. Certainly not in this age, was the unanimous verdict. This correspondent set out for the village along with a photographer to ascertain the facts. They travelled with the children in the bus to school and back and found that life was indeed tough for people in the region.

When TOI brought the issue to the knowledge of state school education minister Sengottaiyan, he said he will order the transport officials to operate a mini-van specifically for school students. "I will convene a meeting with transport officials once I go to Erode district," he said.

More than 5,000 people live at Gundri and its surrounding 26 hamlets. Agriculture is their main source of livelihood.

It was in 1910, that the diocese of Roman Catholics started a primary school at Gundri. In 1975, the school became a government-aided one and it was upgraded as upper primary school. When student enrolment increased, the diocese started a high school (up to Class X) under the self-finance category.

Everyday nightmare: A three-hour wait for the ride back home

A total of 32 students, 18 of them girls, travel from 26 hamlets in the Gundri region to the Kadambur Government Higher Secondary School. These comprise Class XI and XII students besides those who are not able to afford fees at the Gundri school. Eighteen students, including seven girls, from the region are pursuing higher education at the Government Arts and Science College in Sathyamangalam, about 54 km from Gundri.

Sengottaiyan told TOI that steps would be taken to upgrade the high school at Gundri as higher secondary school in the next academic year. "Meanwhile, I will ask the educational officials to inspect the possibility for upgradation," he said.

K Akalya, a Class XII student who lives at Mahalithotti, 3km from Gundri, says she wakes up at 4.30 am every day to catch the bus. "I'm forced to skip school if I miss the bus," she laments.

M Priya, a second year B Com student at the Government Arts and Science College in Sathyamangalam, says she did her schooling in Coimbatore when her father worked there. After they shifted to Kovilur, near Gundri, she commutes to college and back daily. "I have to wait for three hours for the bus to get back home as my classes get over at 4pm," she says.

The schoolchildren too face this problem when they have examinations. "Our exams get over at 1pm, but we have to wait till 8.30pm to catch the bus at Kadambur, said S Parimala, a Class XI student.

It's equally hard on parents. Mothers are up at 3am to prepare breakfast and lunch for the children. "I go to sleep at 11pm after serving dinner to my daughter and get up at 3 am to prepare food for her," said C Lakshmi.

Close-knit communities in villages are a saving grace. People often lend a hand to students who miss the bus. Siddesh, a Class XI student from Kariyagoundanpayil hamlet, and M Manikandan from Mahalithotti of the same class were late for the bus. A local villager on way to work picked up the duo in his bike and dropped them in their school.

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, attached to the Coimbatore division, operates just one bus service from Sathyamangalam to Gundri. The 54-km journey takes three hours as a 44-km stretch is part of the ghat road that passes through STR. The bus has 38 stops, including Gundri. Though the distance between Mahalithotti and Kadambur is 19 km, it takes 2 hours and 30 minutes.

TNSTC sources said the average daily collection for the service is Rs8,000. "The collection could double if the TNSTC operates additional services," said G V Ravichandran, former panchayat president.

Erode collector S Prabhakaran told TOI that he had received a petition from the villagers for additional bus services and to change the bus timings. "I already have instructed the transport officials to check the feasibility for bus timings convenient to school and college students," he said.

When contacted by TOI, Erode district Chief Educational Officer (CEO) R Balamurali said he was aware of the difficulties the villagers faced in commuting. "I have sent a letter to the transport officials to alter the bus timings to suit school students," he said. He hoped that they would change the timings at the earliest.

School Education Secretary Pradeep Yadav told TOI that he would check with the Erode district educational authorities and transport officials about the problems the villagers were facing. He ruled out any violation of the Right To Education Act. "RTE is applicable only up to Class VIII," he said, adding that he would ask Erode district education officials to check the possibility of upgrading nearby government schools to help the higher secondary students.

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