76-year-old Tamil Nadu school reopens for a single student

COIMBATORE: The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department has reopened its 76-year-old elementary school at Chinnakallar in Valparai for just one student. After educating one girl student during 2017-18, the school was temporarily closed because of zero enrolment.
Rajeshwari, a worker at a tea estate at Chinnakallar, wanted to admit her six-year-old son Shiva to the nearby school, but was upset as the school in her locality was closed and the Adi Dravidar Welfare School at Periyakallar was 4km away.She requested the officials to reopen the school and admit her son, and, much to her astonishment, the officials accepted her request.
“Shiva was admitted in Class I on Monday based on a request from his mother. I was given additional duty to take care of the school and teach the kid. The department has taken special efforts to open the school,” said M Sakthivel, headmaster of the school at Periyakallar. He said the headmaster and teacher were transferred to other schools about a year ago. “The school was opened in 1943 to educate students of tea estate workers in the locality, as over 300 workers lived there. The school functioned for over 70 years, educating more than 50 students every year. It lost its shine in the past few years as workers started to migrate to other regions,” said an official from the department.
Speaking about the frequency of elephant attacks and animal menace, as Chinnakallar is located in a dense forest, the official said the number of families residing in the region has drastically reduced to 15.
“In 2017-18, we kept the school open with a teacher and head master just for one student. After this, no student was willing to enroll as elephants began roaming in the area, even breaking the window and doors of the school, said another senior official from the department.
“At present, no such attack has taken place in the locality. But the threat is there. As the family is from the same locality and is used to elephant visits, they are not scared. Still, we have been trying to convince his mother to move her son to the school at Periyakallar. If she agrees, the school would be closed,” he added.