THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fury over the snakebite incident last month at a government school in Wayanad led to a makeover of schools in the capital city. Most of them have undergone visible changes. The corporation has also rolled out a set of criteria to be followed by schools to put an end to the criticism faced by the government and aided schools.
School authorities have been asked to submit a proposal letter containing immediate actions that must be taken in schools. The list which will be forwarded to the corporation via assistant educational officers in each subdistrict contains the requirements for basic infrastructure facility; maintenance work of the roof, compound walls and separation walls; and the need for lights, filling holes, clearing of forestry and trees that pose a potential threat to the lives of students.
According to Education Standing Committee member C Sudarshanan, 153 government and aided schools function under corporation limits. “We received request letters from 60 schools. The remaining have been asked to submit the letter soon. Most schools mentioned the steady growth of weeds on their premises,” he said. Regarding the maintenance works, he said: “Corporation employees have already been allotted to de-weed the school premises regularly. Maintenance works will be completed by the public works department following the directions from the mayor.”
The money required for the major maintenance works that are expected to be held in April will be utilised from the corporation fund. “Small maintenance works including clearing dump sites, forestry and washroom issues have already been completed in a few schools. The rest will be completed in April,” said Mayor K Sreekumar.
The clearing of forestry and dump sites by the end of November with the active participation of PTA members, staff, students and corporation staff in schools won applause. Followed by the success, a cleaning drive will be held on the fourth Saturday of every month in the schools under the city corporation limits.