After demolition of school buildings, students of Government Middle school attend classes under tree shade in Vellore
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Students attend classes in the open at Government Panchayat Union Middle School in Kottaiyur. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Students at the Government Panchayat Union Middle School in Kottaiyur, , were attending classes under shades of trees, after two buildings with four classrooms were demolished in mid-2024 due to its fragile condition. Kottaiyur is a small farming village at the foothills of Jawadhu Hills in Vellore.
Residents said that since the demolition of the buildings, most of the 134 students, including 67 girls were attending their daily classes under the trees on the campus. “Despite good teaching, we are worried about the safety of children, who have to attend classes in the open. With the Northeast monsoon set to begin soon, alternative arrangements should be made to ensure students attend classes in a safe place,” said R. Bakiyam, a resident.
Spread over 8,000 sq.ft, the school that was built in 1954 and maintained by the School Education Department, consisted of three school buildings that have spacious classrooms.
School authorities said that the two dilapidated buildings were demolished after plaster on the ceiling roof peeled off in one of the classrooms. The buildings were demolished with the promise of construction of new ones.
“The school campus has a few separate washrooms for girls, but none for boys as the existing damaged facility have not been re-built despite reminders to authorities. The District Collector should step in to provide safe and permanent buildings for students,” G. Sridhar, headmaster, told The Hindu.
As the existing compound wall of the school was damaged during demolition of the dilapidated school buildings, students had to brave mosquitos and insects, especially during rain, while attending classes. Many students, especially in lower classes fell sick, teachers said.
Repeated petitions were given to the district administration and School Education Department to take steps for construction of new school buildings. Frequent inspection of field level educational officials did not yield any solution, residents said.
Education officials said that these school buildings were part of 812 buildings that were identified for demolition in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur.
The drive was taken in the wake of the death of three students due to the collapse of a toilet wall in a government-aided school in Tirunelveli on December 17, 2021. “Steps will be taken to build new classrooms for the government school. The District Collector will be apprised about the plight of students in the school,” said an official of School Education Department.
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