THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Government Central High School at Attakulangara, one of the oldest school in the capital city, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. At a time when the General Education Department is on a spree to convert government schools into hi-tech institutions, the 130-year-old school cuts a sorry figure. Even as the government promised to renovate it by protecting the heritage value of the institution, the work has stopped midway.
No wonder the school, which offers education from Class V to Class X in both Malayalam and Tamil mediums, has only around 100 students. Interestingly, the school is among the select institutions included in the Save General Education campaign of the state government.
Sources said the renovation work was stalled a week ago owing to the lack of fund which had to be released from the finance department. A total of Rs 1.67 crore was sanctioned for the renovation. However, the contractor, Habitat Technology Group, says it has only received instalments of `24 lakh and `31 lakh so far and it could not proceed further due to lack of fund.
The renovation also included the beautification of the school with a garden, an open-air auditorium and heritage buildings.The government decided to use tiled rood, but school Headmaster Jain Raj said the tiles broke after tree branches felling on them causing a major safety issue for students.
“We support the heritage structure. But tiled rood is not advisable as it will be broken in strong winds and rain. It is a matter of serious concern in terms of safety for students. Similarly, many more works need to be completed as per the project design,” he said.
He said he had submitted a report to the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) updating it about the renovation work. Two buildings, on the left and right sides of the school entrance, are nearing completion, but the sudden stoppage of work means it is going to be further delayed. Two years ago, Education Minister C Raveendranath had promised that the school renovation would be completed before the beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year. Three buildings were planned to be renovated, of which two are nearing completion.
The remaining work had to be stopped last year following a complaint that the architect had not bothered about the heritage value of the buildings. Eventually, it kicked up a controversy. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) also prepared a report citing that the renovation was not being carried out as per the conservation norms. Later, the government extended the time for completion in December 2018. But that promise too went in vain.
Meanwhile, A Shajahan, General Education Secretary, told Express that initial hurdles, including INTACH’s opposition and the delay in payment release, stalled the project for a while.“Apart from this, it is quite a challenge to protect the heritage aspect in all buildings. However, efforts are on to release the fund and restart renovation work as soon as possible,” Shahjahan said.
