VIRUDHUNAGAR: Parents laid siege to the Panchayat Union Middle school in Aamanakutham village near Arupukottai on Wednesday raising various concerns, including the allegation that the students were asked to sweep the classrooms.
According to sources, around 93 students study at the school. Alleging that the food provided in the school is unhygienic and that the students are made to sit under the sun during lunch, the parents laid siege to the school. They further alleged that the students were asked to sweep the classrooms by their teacher.
Sources said the state government appoints a worker at the school to clean toilets. Since the campus has around four to five buildings, the worker is unable to clean the entire place, they added stating that this could be the reason behind the teachers' decision to make the students clean the classrooms.
An official from the Education department denied the allegation about the food being unhygienic. "I, along with some other officials, ate the food today and we found no issues with the food. Concerning the second allegation, the teachers usually make students sit on the verandah to have their food during lunch break.
But lately, due to the change in season, the light enters the verandah. An instruction has been given on shifting them to empty classrooms during lunch break. Moreover, it only seemed that the students were asked to sweep the place, where in fact, they were only cleaning the place where they eat food.
Teachers have been given orders not to indulge students in such works. "We have sought officials to send proposals to the government to appoint one more worker to do the cleaning on school premises," he said.
The parents dispersed after the official promised to take steps towards the issues raised.