TIRUCHY: The government Adi Dravidar welfare (ADW) boys higher secondary school in Kattur, which falls under the constituency of School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, is in need of renovation and basic facilities. Teachers and parents blamed the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department for the delay in taking the steps required to renovate the school building.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, the school enrolment rate was over 500. Currently, only 170 students are enrolled. "It is disheartening to see one of the oldest and most important schools in the district in such a dilapidated condition," said a faculty member, who rued the hardships faced during the monsoon. "Rainwater seeps through the walls when it rains," said the teacher.
Prospective students are discouraged from enrolling in the school after their parents notice its damaged compound walls and classrooms. The complaints we have raised over the years have gone in vain, said the teachers, who urged Minister Poyyamozhi to take the steps required.
"We had requested the education department to hold some of the events organised at the ADW girls school here too. But that, too, went in vain," the teacher rued. A parent said, "The Adi Dravidar girls welfare higher secondary school, which is only a stone's throw away from the boys' school, is equipped with adequate facilities, including a STEM lab.
The boys school, on the other hand, lacks proper classrooms and toilet facilities." When contacted, an official from the Adi Dravidar welfare department told TNIE, "Funds were allotted for seven ADW schools in the district. However, this (the boy's school) was not included in it. We had taken steps to allot funds for the boys school in Kattur." On the water seepage issue, the official said, "We would inspect and an estimate would be readied."