RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, J.

This case is an eye-opener for the Government to realise that several Aided and Government Schools in the State are facing natural death on account of depletion of students and it is high time for the Government to take effective steps to make rearrangements in a realistic manner, keeping in mind the availability of quality education in large number of private schools already in existence and more coming up every day.

2. The Lower Primacy School in this case was started in the year 1967 at Ponkunnam, and it's decline started probably when two CBSE Schools were started in Ponkunnam and another two in the nearby area i.e. at Kanjirappally. In 2008- 09, the School had only 14 children from Standard I to IV, which came down steeply to 6 in 2009-10, and again to 3 in 2010-11. However, after Onam Holidays the School realised that 3 are only in record and really there is only one pupil in Standard I, who is none other than the daughter of the Teacher-in-charge. In other words, but for the mercy shown by the Teacher-in-charge by admitting her daughter in Standard I, the School would have been running with 3 teachers but without a single student. It is this ch