How a Maharashtra village is using tax waivers to woo children to its Zilla Parishad school

Indian Express

6 hours ago

Addressing the issue of the declining number of enrolments in village government schools has been a cause of concern for authorities. A panchayat in Maharashtra's Amravati district has offered a new carrot — Send your child to the local Zilla Parishad (ZP) school, and waive your property tax and water tax for the year.
Sayat panchayat has come up with the exciting offer as the strength of its primary school, which once used to be the heart of the village's educational system with 90 children until three years ago, today has shrunk to just 38 students.
'It's quite disheartening to see empty classes,' said Amol Akhade, the Sayat ZP school's headmaster.
'Private English medium schools, often called 'convent schools' locally, have become the new aspiration for parents. Even families with modest incomes are willing to stretch their budgets, believing these schools offer their children a better future, and this is one of the main reasons for reduced enrollments in public schools,' added Akhade.
The response was immediate. 'Within days of announcing the tax waiver scheme on June 24, six families enrolled their children. It may seem like a small number, but for a school fighting for survival, every child matters,' said Annapurna Mankar, the Sayat village sarpanch.
When admissions for the 2024-25 academic year showed only five children enrolling in the first grade, the village knew something had to be done. 'After seeing the abysmally low admissions this year, the villagers and gram panchayat members together decided to take this decision,' said Mankar.
'So we came up with this simple yet unprecedented initiative to reward families who choose the government school,' she added.
Nasir Shah, one of the parents who enrolled their daughter after the decision told The Indian Express, 'Being a mason, a low-paying job, my wife and I both need to be at work for the whole day to make up the month's financial needs and are not able to take care of our daughter's studies. The ZP school provides free and quality education, along with mid-day meals. Now, considering the gram panchayat's new initiative to waive taxes, we decided to drop the private school option.'
The tax waiver is just one part of a larger transformation happening at Sayat ZP School.
Recognising that parents want English education for their children, the school has become 'semi-English,' Mankar said.
'We are a team of three faculty members, and to retain students, we are giving our best by paying special attention to each child. The school also runs a regular mid-day meal programme and carries out extracurricular activities like meditation, cultural programmes, dance, and others to make learning enjoyable,' said Prashant Bhakre, assistant teacher.
The village panchayat is also investing in better infrastructure, with fresh paint, and focusing on regular maintenance to make the school more attractive and be able to compete with private schools.
Beyond the statistics lies another aspect of the issue. Akhade pointed out that family problems often affect children's education. 'In most cases, a fight between husband and wife usually affects their children, where either of the partners leaves the village and takes their children away. This contributes to both low enrollment and increasing dropout rates,' the headmaster said.
'So the school staff has learned to be more than just teachers. We're counsellors, mentors, and sometimes the stable presence in children's lives when everything else seems uncertain. From convincing parents for admissions to opening their bank accounts for scholarship-eligible students, we try to make their experience hassle-free,' added Bhakre.
Akhade said it will take at least a year before the real impact becomes visible. But already, there are signs of hope. 'Now that parents are opting for ZP schools, we feel energised, and it has given us more energy to teach,' he remarked.
'The village is now running awareness campaigns to spread the word about both the tax benefits and the improvements being made to the school. A detailed list of eligible families has been prepared, and the tax waivers for the previous financial year are being processed,' said Mankar.