`Sir, please arrange a teacher for us': Salugu students send SOS to Jagan; video goes viral

Paderu: "Sir, we do not have a teacher in our school. Please arrange a teacher for us," Salugu Primary School students appealed to chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. A video has now gone viral in which a girl in a school uniform can be seen requesting government officials for arranging a teacher for her school. With a roll of 33 students, the school reopened on July 5.

"We go to school every day waiting for a teacher. Who will teach us?" asked the girl.

According to the locals, the school is 30 kilometers away from Paderu Mandal. The village has no phone or road connectivity. "There was one school teacher who used to teach all the subjects from class I-V. But she got transferred and the officials did not bother to send her replacement. Students ask us every day who will teach them. We don't have an answer. Students along with their parents decided to meet the district collector ", said Sobhan, a villager of Salugu Panchayat.

Students carry old books

Students who have now been promoted to the next class do not even have new books to study. They are carrying their old books to school. "If there was a school teacher, he/she would provide students with uniforms and books. But now that there is no teacher, we do not know what is in store for us", said a villager.

Where has Rs 52,600 Cr gone?

Andhra Pradesh government has spent Rs 52,600 crore on the education sector so far. But, people ask why were tribal areas neglected?

Jagan launched the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka program and spend Rs 931 crore. Around 47.40 lakh kits including school bags, shoes, two pairs of school uniforms, belts, and notebooks were distributed across the state. A total of 4.08 lakh students of Classes VIII and IX will be given tabs worth Rs 12,000 each to access Byju's online classes. It will cost the state a whopping Rs 500 crore. In 2019-20, the state has distributed 42.43 lakh kits.

Though the Andhra Pradesh government boosts developing schools under the Nadu-Nedu program, many tribal villages lack even basic facilities. Many government primary schools do not even have a single teacher.

The state government spent Rs 4,351 crore to renovate 44,512 government schools. In the first phase, 15,571 schools were renovated. Work is under progress in 22,344 schools. The state wants to provide TV sets to the schools to make them on par with private educational institutions.