the goan I network
PORVORIM
The government primary school at Carrem has only 5 students (all girls) on roll, one each in the first, second and fourth standards and two in the third standard.
“When the school started, there were over 30 students. Over the years, the number went on dwindling,” lamented Tukaram Halarnkar, a resident of Soccoro.
There is one teacher who teaches all the subjects to the five classes, while another visits twice a week to teach English to the students.
Since the state government has provided bus facilities via its Bal Rath scheme, parents from Soccorro, including migrant labourers, prefer to send their children to English medium schools at Mapusa or Porvorim. On the other hand, there is no Bal Rath bus facility for this government school, despite the fact that it is located in a remote location.
Also, there is no security around this school as there aren’t many houses nearby either. It may be recalled that in 2016, serial killers Chandrakant Talwar and Saran Rodrigues had committed murder in the verandah of this very school, disposing of the body in the bushes behind the school building.
Taking the above into account, Halarnkar is of the opinion that if the number of students decreases further, then the government may have to shut down this school forever.
