TIRUCHY: The School Education Department has constituted a special committee to regularly monitor drinking water supply, toilets and other basic amenities in government schools across Tiruchy district following complaints over irregular water supply at a government school in Thiruvellarai.
Recently, students of the school flagged irregular drinking water supply and frequent motor repairs. The issue was subsequently taken up by Collector Pratik Tayal, who advised officials to evolve a dedicated monitoring mechanism for civic amenities in schools, sources said.
According to officials, the committee consisting of staff from the School Education Department will visit schools every month and inspect the availability of drinking water, maintenance of toilets, cleanliness of campuses and other infrastructure facilities.
Defects noticed will be brought to the notice of the authorities concerned. While details relating to civic amenities such as drinking water facilities, functional toilets and sanitation infrastructure are regularly updated on EMIS portal, officials said exclusive field inspections would help verify the status of facilities on the ground and ensure timely intervention wherever required.
Officials said issues relating to civic amenities in schools were earlier taken up during routine inspections carried out by district educational officers and block educational officers. "Headmasters can also bring deficiencies to the panel's notice. The idea is to identify issues early and ensure that they are addressed without delay," a senior official said.
The district educational officer will be the inspecting authority and reports will be submitted by the committee to the Chief Educational Officer. "Several facilities have been created in government schools under various schemes, including NABARD-funded projects.
In some cases, maintenance issues are noticed only during inspections or after complaints are received. The committee will help ensure regular monitoring of such facilities," another official said.