The 130-year-old Nileshwaram GLP School building will soon become part of history after it is bulldozed and replaced with a new structure.
While the development of the school and the need for creation of new facilities for students have been cited as the reason for the demolition, organisations such as Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which is spearheading heritage awareness and conservation in India, have strongly come out against the government’s move.
The school, constructed by the Basel Evangelical Mission in 1888-89, has been given permission to demolish the building and to construct a two-floor structure with 14 classrooms, lab, library, and other facilities. For this, ₹2.85 crore was sanctioned two years ago following the intervention of A. Rajagopalan, MLA.
However, V. Jayaraj, convenor, INTACH, said that the State government had the responsibility to safeguard such an old structure under it. The conservation of the building was of immense importance and its legacy should be passed on to the next generation. This was possible only if the structure was maintained intact.
Instead of preserving history, there was an effort to destroy it in the name of development, he said.
Explaining its importance, Mr. Jayaraj said that it was the first school in Nileswaram. It had admitted children from the royal family as well as those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. At a time when caste discrimination was widely prevalent, the school had the distinction of educating children of all castes.
The children of workers, who were employed at the tile factory, were the majority of students in the school.
Dr. N. Ganesh Pai, who was closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, actor Kavya Madhavan, and many other prominent persons had studied here, Mr. Jayaraj said.
M. Balakrishnan Nair, who has written the history of the school and retired from here as a teacher, said that the school should not be demolished. It had historical importance and stood as a monument of change that it brought to society.
When education was imparted to only the elite and upper castes and even the British rulers did little for the uplift of people from a the poor, lower and backward classes, the school started by the missionaries became a gateway for change in society, he said. It should be protected at all costs and a separate place should be identified to start a school with a modern facility.
K.P. Jayarajan, Chairman, Neeleswaram Municipality said the local body had identified and offered 50 cents of land with the intention to protect the building. However, the decision to demolish the building and construct a new one had been taken by the Parent-Teacher Association, he said.
