The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Erode News : Officials tighten the screws

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 20, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Erode

Officials tighten the screws

By Our Staff Reporter

ERODE, JULY 19. Showcause notices were issued to 59 schools in the Erode district running classes in thatched sheds, the Collector, D. Karthikeyan, said today.

He told the presspersons that the officials of the Education and Revenue departments had visited all the 3,000-and-odd schools in the district on Sunday and Monday.

It was found that three Government Higher Secondary Schools, one Government aided HSS, 12 Matriculation HSS and 43 primary schools run by the local bodies were conducting classes in thatched sheds. Notices were served today to remove the thatched sheds and put fire-proof sheets and run the classes. He said that if thatched roofs were not removed before July 30, he would withdraw the recognition to the schools and criminal action would be taken against them.

Our Staff Reporter writes from Dharmapuri:

The district administration has constituted 10 special teams to identify schools that are functioning under thatched roofs. The teams fanned out into different parts of the district to identify and prepare a report on the status of government, aided, private and matriculation schools that are not equipped with concrete building structures and have a thatched roof.

Of the 1,267 schools in the district as many as 1,024 were primary and elementary, 174 Government and 57 private matriculation schools. In Krishnagiri, while efforts were on to list schools that were functioning under thatched structures, private aided and matriculation schools have already started dismantling the structures.

Our Special Correspondent writes from Salem

The high-level team of officials from police and Department of Education, constituted to identify schools that were functioning under thatched roofing, had zeroed in on 36 schools in the district. It included many Government schools too.

The team members carried out a quick inspection of all schools in the district and identified 36 that ran classes under thatched roofing. The list included three Government, eight Panchayat Union and three Government-aided schools. The rest were private ones.

The report was submitted to the Collector, A. Sukumaran, who had already issued instructions that thatched roofing should be replaced immediately. Showcause notices were despatched to the managements of these schools in this regard and given July 30 as the deadline.

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Officials tighten the screws