The Hindu: Madurai: Friday, 5 July 2024.
Out of the 1,535 schools in
Tirunelveli district, there are no playgrounds in 665 institutions, said
Tirunelveli District School Education department authorities in response to a
query raised by an applicant in the Right to Information (RTI) Act addressed to
Collector K. P. Karthikeyan.
The applicant, Manishankar of Naam Tamilar Katchi, told media persons on Thursday that at least 100 school buildings were in a bad shape. Following a compound wall collapse in 2021 in Sripuram, where three students died, the State had announced that a series of precautionary measures would be taken in all the government and government aided schools.
However, the Tamil Nadu government had not earmarked any funds for carrying out repairs, the response said.
According to the RTI query, 159 school buildings in the district need to be razed down and new ones built in their place for multiple reasons.
To a query on availability of water, including drinking water, on the school campuses, the response said that in 144 schools there were no provision for water and 81 schools, there was no facility to provide drinking water to the students.
Though the government gives bus passes to the students, 263 schools in Tirunelveli district had no bus facility. The district administration and the Transport department had to jointly examine modalities to ply buses to these schools as the children walked long distances from home to school and back. There are no compound walls for 23 schools.
To a query on condition of the kitchens in schools, Mr. Manishankar said that the response was that 193 kitchens were in a bad shape.
The RTI applicant said that initially he did not get the response from the authorities. Later, he moved the appellate authority which directed the officials to immediately furnish the details asked by the applicant and any delay would lead to a fine of ₹25,000 for officials, Mr Manishankar said.
Activists in Tirunelveli district are of the view that instead of depending on the government, service organisations and corporate bodies such as big banks and industries could sponsor schools where basic amenities were in dire need.
The applicant, Manishankar of Naam Tamilar Katchi, told media persons on Thursday that at least 100 school buildings were in a bad shape. Following a compound wall collapse in 2021 in Sripuram, where three students died, the State had announced that a series of precautionary measures would be taken in all the government and government aided schools.
However, the Tamil Nadu government had not earmarked any funds for carrying out repairs, the response said.
According to the RTI query, 159 school buildings in the district need to be razed down and new ones built in their place for multiple reasons.
To a query on availability of water, including drinking water, on the school campuses, the response said that in 144 schools there were no provision for water and 81 schools, there was no facility to provide drinking water to the students.
Though the government gives bus passes to the students, 263 schools in Tirunelveli district had no bus facility. The district administration and the Transport department had to jointly examine modalities to ply buses to these schools as the children walked long distances from home to school and back. There are no compound walls for 23 schools.
To a query on condition of the kitchens in schools, Mr. Manishankar said that the response was that 193 kitchens were in a bad shape.
The RTI applicant said that initially he did not get the response from the authorities. Later, he moved the appellate authority which directed the officials to immediately furnish the details asked by the applicant and any delay would lead to a fine of ₹25,000 for officials, Mr Manishankar said.
Activists in Tirunelveli district are of the view that instead of depending on the government, service organisations and corporate bodies such as big banks and industries could sponsor schools where basic amenities were in dire need.