COIMBATORE: The 'Super Clean, Super Campus' initiative announced in the Budget on Wednesday has been welcomed by educational groups, who have also urged the state government to appoint permanent workers in schools to carry out the work.
The ‘Super Clean, Super Campus’ scheme will be introduced in 10,000 government schools in the first phase to ensure cleanliness, proper maintenance of drinking water facilities and toilets, and round-the-clock security on school campuses. The government will allocate Rs 139 crore towards this.
Kalvi Mempattu Kootamaipu coordinator Su Moorthy welcomed the move and told TNIE that ensuring basic facilities in schools is a fundamental right of every child and there is no need to give the scheme an attractive name.
"At present, cleanliness in government schools is far from satisfactory, as the cleaning work is being carried out by temporary workers deployed by local bodies for low wages. In many schools, the campus and toilets are not maintained properly due to an inadequate number of sanitation workers.
As a result, hygiene remains a concern in several schools. In most places, students are made to sweep their classrooms, which can be considered as physical harassment," he said.
"The government has only announced the name of the scheme and its objectives. However, we expect the state government to appoint sweepers, sanitation workers, and night watchmen regularly through the school education department based on the student strength of each school.
They should be paid the minimum wages fixed by the central government. This will ensure cleanliness is maintained and enrollment in government schools is also likely to increase," he added.
Palli Kalvi Paathukappu Iyakkam, Coimbatore, zonal coordinator P Chandrasekar said the absence of night watchmen has led to the theft of computers and other equipment from government schools. He also alleged that in many places, outsiders use school campuses to consume alcohol at night.
Chandrasekar urged the government to appoint at least one night watchman in every government school to safeguard property and prevent the theft of equipment.
Tamil Nadu Elementary School Teachers Federation district secretary C Arasu said the absence of any announcement on teachers’ recruitment in the Budget caused great disappointment among teachers.