Karnataka school students study under crumbling roof

BANGALORE, MARCH 13: Elderly citizens of Bangalore will remember the Government Main Middle School at Malleswaram. At one time, this 125-...

BANGALORE, MARCH 13: Elderly citizens of Bangalore will remember the Government Main Middle School at Malleswaram. At one time, this 125-year-old school had 6,000 students and 25 teachers. Today, its walls are crumbling and the lives of the few children who go there are in danger.

It is children who ring the bell in the absence of a peon, clean the premises, use the corporation toilets and balance on rickety benches and over-used tables all in an attempt to study.

A portion of the school building had collapsed a few months ago due to heavy rain. The teachers say they are happy that it did not happen when the 140-odd students were in school. 8220;Engineers asked us to close two classrooms. Even the binding which holds the walls is cracked,8221; says a former principal of the school.

Worse, there are no toilets. They were closed after the teachers complained of the stench in the office which is adjacent to the toilets. 8220;We thought it better to lock the toilets as the stench is unbearable,8221; says one of thesix teachers at the school. Male students relieve themselves on the premises, while female students have to go to the nearby corporation-run toilet.

The children have taken all the inconveniences in their stride. 8220;When the premises become too dirty, we clean the place,8221; says one of the students. With the Government decision not to appoint any peons to Government primary and middle schools, the burden has now shifted to the children.

8220;No repairs are done regularly. No one is there to hear our grievances,8221; says the school authorities. 8220;The corporation people come here with low quality white-wash and make a pretence of white-washing the place,8221; say authorities. This hardly lasts few weeks. Though there is a police station opposite the school, no efforts are made to help students cross the busy road.

8220;One reason why parents hesitate to send their children here is because of the heavy traffic. Most students are from lower-middle class and poor families, who have no other option,8221; says ateacher.

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The school8217;s office room has a computer terminal which has not worked since it was installed. 8220;We have submitted an estimate of Rs 1.68 lakh to the Jilla Panchayat to renovate the building. But no action has been taken,8221; say school authorities. Commissioner for Public Instruction Upendra Tripathy says: 8220;The department will expedite the work. We are even prepared to release extra funds if necessary.8221;

Government sources say Government funds for education has been decreasing over the years. 8220;At present, Rs 21.4 lakh has been ear-marked for repair and maintenance work in urban schools,8221; says Tripathy. When told that the students clean the premises, Tripathy says: 8220;Even Gandhiji has done this before.8221;