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Sunday, Jul 18, 2004

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Crackdown on makeshift schools

By V. Jayanth and K. Ramachandran

A thatched shed being removed in a private school in Salem on Saturday. — Photo: P. Goutham

CHENNAI, JULY 17. There has been a crackdown on makeshift schools and those functioning under thatched roofs across the State today. This comes a day after a devastating fire at a school at Kumbakonam consumed over 90 innocent lives.

Officials sources said a major initiative to review the structural safety of schools functioning in thatched rooms would be announced in a couple of days.

On the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's instructions yesterday, Education department officials at Kumbakonam were placed under suspension. This led to a State-wide assessment by the district authorities about the condition of the private and aided schools. Hundreds of schools came under the microscope and were ordered closed by the department. In most places, the thatched roofs were pulled down, some on their own and some by local pressure.

Senior officials of the department including the Secretary, School Education department, K. Gnanadesikan, the Director of Elementary Education (in charge of aided elementary and primary schools), R. Kannan, discussed actions to be initiated following the Chief Minister's directive for an immediate and intensive inspection of all schools throughout the State to ascertain and ensure the maintenance of safety standards.

Official sources said the survey would "naturally be based in the backdrop of the happenings at Kumbakonam." While the department would start the activity, "there are also local initiatives led by the District Collectors."

The sources note that even as per the present rules, a licensed or chartered engineer has to certify the structural stability of the schools for grant of or renewal of approval. The panel of certifiers under the District Collector would be empowered to take up local initiative to decide on the structural safety aspect.

This could now be interpreted to include fire safety also. The safety aspect could now be assessed based on whether there was any kitchen or fire source nearby, materials used for roof, walls and furniture, and their nearness to fire or power sources that could be vulnerable to short circuits.

What is striking is that in the fire at a mental asylum at Erwadi in Ramanathpuram district, or in the kalyanamandam at Srirangam and now in the Kumbakonam school, it was the thatched roofs or units which caught fire and collapsed, consuming many lives.

The immediate work of redistributing students of the Saraswathi English medium school, which has been ordered to be closed, was taken up today by the Director of School Education, S. Paramasivan, who is in Kumbakonam. It could take a few days for things to settle down and life to return to normal.

Former officials and principals argue that this problem needs a more serious socio-economic review and cannot be dealt with just from the angle of thatched roofs. "In the rural areas, this is the natural and abundantly available raw material used not just in schools and marriage halls, but even in houses. I mean proper concrete houses where it provides a cover to the terrace, particularly in summer," says a former headmaster, R. Thiruvengadam. He does not find either asbestos or tin sheets an acceptable substitute. The whole issue needs to be discussed and debated to find a permanent solution.

While education officials and the local bodies came in for condemnation for not cracking down earlier on such schools, a retired official remarked "I do not want to defend the inaction, but let me ask why the parents flock to these unsafe schools just because they are English medium? Last year, the Government issued a directive to all Matriculation schools to provide for open space and play ground in each school, even in urban areas. That is the direction we have to take; insisting on open space all round."

The Government, officials say, has to take concrete steps to meet the growing demand for English-medium education and the State's reducing allocations for this crucial sector. Obviously, the Government is not in a position to increase its burden on this front, in which case, it must ensure proper regulation and enforcement, they say.

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