Student writes to PM to save Kannada-medium school

Mangaluru: A PU student has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to save a Kannada-medium school. In response to her letter, the PMO has directed the chief secretary to take appropriate action.
Varshitha R, I PU student, had reached out to the PMO seeking help to save Panchabettu Vidhyavardhaka High School (Udupi), from where she completed her schooling recently.
She told TOI: “When I got to know about plans to close down the school, I reached out to the PMO hoping for some action.I’m happy to receive a positive response. We will try and save the school.”
A Narasimha, president of the school, said there have been attempts to close down this Kannada school. “Last year, the school strength was 45. “We are trying to save the school from being shut. Its alumni, especially those working in big cities and abroad, are also supporting the cause. We have also reached out to the education minister,’’ he said.
Udupi BEO Manjula said that a decision to shut the school was taken because of violation in terms of its strength. Last year, the school management received special permission from the government to continue for a year. In the high school section, each class is supposed to have 25 students. Three staff members have been relieved from duty.
“However, there is confusion in some matters and an appropriate decision will be taken after consulting the DDPI,” Manjula said, adding that she has not received any official communication regarding the letter sent to the PMO.