270 flood-affected schools to remain shut till Monday

The Director of Public Instruction (DPI) has directed the remaining schools to reopen by Monday.Of the 270 schools, 217 are in Alappuzha district, followed by 33 in Pathanamthitta district.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With schools in the state reopening on Wednesday following floods and Onam holidays, as many as 270 will remain shut for a few more days. Reason: Water is yet to recede in some and repair works are going on in others. However, the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) has directed the remaining schools to reopen by Monday.Of the 270 schools, 217 are in Alappuzha district, followed by 33 in Pathanamthitta district.

As per statistics available with the Education Department, 98 schools in Alappuzha district are still waterlogged, while 119 schools are functioning as relief camps. For instance, schools in Veliyanad, Mankombu and Thalavadi in Alappuzha district are still waterlogged. Apart from Alappuzha, a few schools in Paravur and Aluva in Ernakulam district won’t be able to reopen on Wednesday.

According to the DPI, cleaning drive and maintenance works of damaged school buildings are underway.
“Since many schools in Alappuzha district are situated in low-lying areas, water is yet to recede so far. We are trying our best to reopen schools that are functioning as relief camps on Monday. If it doesn’t happen, we will come up with alternative options,” said DPI K V Mohan Kumar.

“Similarly, damaged schools can be reopened only after some time. In that case, we will make some temporary arrangements by shifting the classrooms to a safe location. However, we won’t allow missing more classes. Hence, the classes will start on September 3,” he added. District Collectors have been asked to make alternative arrangements for schools that won’t be able to reopen on Monday. Deputy Director Education (DDE) officers have been directed to oversee the cleaning work at schools. The cleaning of 257 schools has been completed.

Various units, including SSA, NCC and NSS, are engaged in cleaning flood-affected schools. A majority of the schools were full of mud and debris.The cleaning drive began on Friday to ensure the exercise is completed by Wednesday. People’s representatives, PTA members, school management committees, voluntary organisations and others were also involved in the cleaning process.Textbooks, notebooks and other study materials will be distributed by Friday.

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