Hubballi: For 90 SSLC students at GHS Veerapur, continuing their education means travelling long distances to Dharwad or struggling to find a nearby institution as the proposal to upgrade their school to a Pre-University college remains pending.The school, with an overall strength of 291, is among the govt high schools awaiting an upgrade. GHS Devikoppa in Kalaghatgi is also awaiting approval. Parents and local school development and monitoring committees (SDMCs) have repeatedly demanded PU colleges to accommodate students after SSLC.Education department submitted proposals to upgrade eligible schools, following which officials inspected infrastructure, student strength, classrooms, science laboratories and basic facilities. Of the three proposed schools, only one has been upgraded so far.Irannagouda Patil, SDMC president of GHS Veerapur, told TOI that students travelling from surrounding villages face severe transportation issues due to poor bus connectivity and long daily commutes to Dharwad.“Female students are at high risk of dropping out after completing SSLC because of these commuting challenges,” Patil said. “Without local options, girls are forced to move to hostels or paying guest accommodations—an expense poor families cannot afford. GHS Veerapur serves as a central hub for over 10 surrounding villages and already operates at full capacity. We urge the govt to immediately approve the long-pending proposal.”The SDMC has urged officials to expedite the process. Schools such as GHS Devikoppa and GHS Veerapur have sufficient student enrolment to warrant an upgrade.RR Sadalagi, block education officer (BEO) for Dharwad Rural, confirmed that a detailed proposal had been submitted to the state govt via the deputy director of pre-university education (DDPU).“We are waiting for the official govt order,” Sadalagi said. “Given the high demand, we will follow up with another request soon. Additionally, residents around Baad have also requested a PU college. We have submitted a proposal for that region as well, as Baad has the necessary infrastructure to manage a college.”Tejaswini Narayankar, DDPU, said that of the three proposed sites, the govt recently sanctioned a PU college at Koliwad in Hubballi Rural, which began functioning in July. She added that, upon further instructions from higher authorities, she will submit additional proposals to upgrade the remaining schools.
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