AMBUR: Contrary to the usual practice of rural students coming to urban centres for higher education, those who have completed SSLC in Ambur are going in search of schools faraway in rural places. They are forced to do so as they can avail the 7.5% reservation in higher education institutes only if they study in government school.

Students of Ambur face this predicament as the town doesn’t have any government higher secondary school, despite having many private schools at the higher level. Former town Congress president and former councillor Suresh Babu laments that “the town with 1.25 lakh population in 36 wards has no government higher secondary school.”

There are many private schools in the locality, there is not one government HSS school to cater to the needs of the poor and downtrodden, he said. “There are three higher grade schools run by Christian, Hindu and Muslim organisations. This becomes problematic as government rules stipulate that students have to study completely in government HSS to avail the 7.5% special reservation for admission to professional courses. So, many students of Ambur are forced to go in search of government schools.”

The town has only one government high school in the A Kaspa area. Hence Ambur students travel hard to join the higher secondary schools at Devalapuram (7 kilometres away), Alinjikuppam (12 kilometres) or Arungaldurgam 18 kilometres from Ambur town, he added. When asked about the issue, collector D Baskara Pandian said the issue had not come to his notice, but promised to do the needful to ensure that Ambur had a HSS soon.