Classrooms unsafe in Jalandhar schools, govt drags feet

Fifteen months ago, the district education department had demolished unsafe classrooms in various primary and secondary government schools in the district, but has failed to construct new ones in their place so far, causing huge inconvenience to the students. The demolition drive was undertaken following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Fifteen months ago, the district education department had demolished unsafe classrooms in various primary and secondary government schools in the district, but has failed to construct new ones in their place so far, causing huge inconvenience to the students. The demolition drive was undertaken following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Sources said most schools were finding it difficult to manage teaching due to lack of adequate number of classrooms and had to make students sit in corridors, libraries or laboratories and were even holding two lectures in a single classroom. (Representative image)

The high court had strictly ordered all schools not to teach students in unsafe classrooms after which the public works department (PWD) had conducted a construction quality survey last year, in which more than 100 classrooms of various schools in the district were found unsafe.

All the unsafe classrooms were demolished by the PWD authorities in October and November 2014, but the government has failed to get new rooms constructed in their place.

In academic year 2014-15, the district education department had sent a demand to the government to construct 139 classroooms, including 90 in primary schools and 49 in secondary schools while a demand to contruct 119 rooms, including 70 in primary and 49 in secondary schools was sent in the current academic year.

Officials said the government had approved the construction of 71 rooms, including 50 in primary schools and 21 in secondary schools in 2014-15, of which only 18 rooms have been constructed so far in only primary schools under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Even after approving the construction of new rooms, the fund-crunched government has failed to transfer funds to the education authorities.

Sources said most schools were finding it difficult to manage teaching due to lack of adequate number of classrooms and had to make students sit in corridors, libraries or laboratories and were even holding two lectures in a single classroom.

Gurcharan Singh Multani, district education officer (primary), said the department was revising the plan and will again demand the construction of new rooms in the coming session.

“We will send a fresh proposal to the government for construction of new rooms and expect to receive grants,” he said.