Telangana: Government school students of Mulugu district study under open sky as classrooms crumble

About 170 students, from Classes 1 to 5, don’t have access to the furniture that is kept in the classrooms and they're using the playground to study means that it cannot be utilised for sports.

The decaying ceiling of the Government Primary School in Chalwai village of Govindaraopet mandal in that has forced the students to study under open sky. (Photo | Express)

MULUGU: Students of the Government Primary School in Chalwai village of Govindaraopet Mandal in Mulugu district are forced to study under the open sky in the playground as stepping inside the classroom is fraught with the risk of even death.

Such is the condition of the classrooms that it appears as if the roof may cave in at any given moment. The decades-old building is in very bad shape and needs the immediate attention of the district School Education Department and the district administration.

When Express visited the school in Chalwai, the teachers were taking classes in the playground. Even lunch served to the students as part of the midday meals scheme is under the trees inside the school.
The school building comprises six classrooms and a staff room. For the past many decades, after the structure was constructed, there has been no allocation of funds for the upkeep of the school. Consequently, no repair works were undertaken to keep the structure sturdy.

With no upkeep, instances of pieces of the slab falling down are becoming increasingly frequent, scaring away the teachers, staff and students. Speaking to Express, a staffer of the school said that every day, students were risking their lives to attend classes. He said that officials are well aware of the condition of the building, but remain indifferent, unwilling or unable to take action.

The district administration authorities had prepared a proposal to construct a new building at an estimated cost of `70 lakh and submitted it to the department concerned for the release of funds. However, not a single rupee has been sanctioned till now.

“With the implementation of the Mana Badi programme in the State, we are hoping that the funds will be released for the construction of a new school building. We hope the district officials take immediate steps to get the funds released,” the school staffer said. When Express tried to contact Mulugu district Collector S Krishna Aditya, he was not available for comment.

Nowhere to go
About 170 students, from Classes 1 to 5, don’t have access to the furniture that is kept in the classrooms and they're using the playground to study means that it cannot be utilised for sports.