Students of the Panchayat Union Middle School in Onnupuram village of West Arani block near Tiruvannamalai have been attending classes in the open or on the veranda owing to the delay in rebuilding of five classrooms that were demolished some months ago due to poor condition.
Since then, the students of Classes III-V have had no classrooms to study in. Built in the 1940s and maintained by the West Arani Panchayat Union, the school, which has over 300 students, had 12 classrooms of which five were demolished, a noon meal centre, taps and separate toilets for boys, girls and the faculty.
“Due to delay in reconstruction of the classrooms, safety of students remains a challenge as the campus is surrounded by thick vegetation. Also, many students complain of leg pain as they have to sit on the floor,” said K. Karthikeyan, headmaster in-charge.
When it rains, classes for these students are conducted on the veranda. Food is cooked in the open due to the demolition of the noon meal centre. Broken toilets force students, especially girls, to use restrooms at houses that are near the school. The damaged septic tank also overflows on the campus due to seepage of rainwater. The open space near the tank has been a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
S. Thilagavathi, Block Development Officer (BDO), West Arani block, told The Hindu that new classrooms and additional buildings in schools were being constructed under the School Infrastructure Development Scheme 2022-2023.
At the school, rebuilding of classrooms, the noon meal centre and toilets were being done at a cost of ₹18.21 lakh. “Construction materials for renovation has arrived. We have asked the private contractor to speed up the work,” Ms. Thilagavathi said.
The school building is a part of 812 dilapidated buildings identified for demolition in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur. The move came in the wake of the death of three students after the collapse of a toilet wall in a government-aided school in Tirunelveli two years ago.
