TENKASI: The lack of availability of land for the construction of classrooms has left as many as 240 of 565 students in the Government Higher Secondary School to study in the Village Panchayat Service Centre, bicycle parking, Anna Marumalarchi library, and even under the trees in Vinaitheerthanadarpatti of Thippanampatti panchayat near Pavoorchatram. “We need six more classrooms to accommodate these students and to set up labs,” said the school headmaster Chandrasekar.
Parents of students said there was an increase in admissions after the school was upgraded to a higher secondary school in 2018. “There was no space constraint before the upgrade. Many of us from Thippanampatti, Madathur, Kalloorani, Sivagamiyapuram, Ariyapuram, Pavoorchatram, and Keezhapavoor admitted their children to this school. However, the State government did not construct additional classrooms due to land shortage in the school premises,” they said.
Activist P Thangaraj said students forced out of the classrooms are reporting health issues like allergies and itching. “The school lacks a playground, library and sufficient toilets for the students. They are parking their bicycles on the roadsides with a risk of theft,” he added. Further, Thangaraj pointed out that DMK District Secretary P Sivapadmanathan and himself had met the HR&CE Minister P K Sekar Babu seeking 4.76 acre of unused temple land on lease for the construction of the school building.
“The particular land belongs to Panpozhi Thirumalaikumarasamy temple. 23 of 35 lessees who were in possession of this land have died. Those who are alive have not paid the lease amount for the past several years. The school management committee passed a resolution on March 20, requesting the temple land for the school, he added.
Meanwhile, an official, seeking anonymity said, “We are checking whether the HR&CE norms allow us to hand over the unused land for the government school on the grounds that some lessees turned defaulters and many died.”