VELLORE/TIRUPATHUR: For the past two months, the 167 students of the Government Middle School in Athiyur village have braved the mounting heat to attend lessons from beneath trees and tarpaulin sheets after three buildings housing their classrooms were razed citing safety concerns.
However, when the drive to demolish unsafe school buildings was undertaken by the school education department last year, parents and students were assured that classes would be conducted in rented facilities till new buildings came up. This is not the case at the Athiyur school located near Anaicut in Vellore district.
On a weekday, TNIE found some students attending lessons sheltered by a tarpaulin sheet which, as the mercury rose, felt like a hot stove even as the students, drenched in sweat, valiantly fanned themselves with their notebooks. “The sheets absorb the heat, making it impossible for us to sit there,” one student said, as the notorious Vellore summer temperature crossed 101 degree Fahrenheit. Other children were seen seated beneath trees, while a few attended classes in the sole building standing: the headmaster’s room.
“The temperature soars in the afternoon and it has become really difficult for the children,” said G Vel Murugan, a parent and member of the Parent-Teacher Association. “We’re trying to get donations to construct a building.” Gurumalai hill panchayat president Annamalai said efforts to shift classes to a common utility hall or a private building failed as the school is located in a remote area.
‘Work for construction of school buildings to start in June’
As the school’s furniture has been dumped in a nearby rice mill, the students attend lessons seated on sheets placed on the ground. The situation was only moderately better before the buildings were razed as the classrooms were often flooded during rains.
According to a senior School Education Department official, schools where buildings must been rebuilt on an urgent basis have been identified and an estimate has been sent to the Government. As many as 136 classrooms of government schools were demolished in Vellore.
Funds for the construction of school buildings, Anganwadis, kitchen sheds and common utilities in the village panchayats have been released and the works will begin in June after administrative sanction, Vellore Department of Rural Development Agency Project Director K Arthi told TNIE and urged officials to make temporary arrangements for the Athiyur Middle school.
A special team was identified the infrastructure and common utility needs in every village panchayat. Sources said, the schools which are in dire need of new buildings will be given priority. The classrooms will be built under School Infrastructure Development Scheme.
Students of the Government Middle school in Anneri panchayat here recently protested about dilapidated their school buildings. They said they were visited by venomous reptiles inside classrooms and repeated requests to renovate the school building had gone in vain.
Construction to start after funds allocated
An official said, schools where buildings must been rebuilt on an urgent basis have been identified. Construction will begin as soon as funds are allocated, the staff said.