The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Over 100 years old… yet the school lags behind in terms of facilities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Over 100 years old… yet the school lags behind in terms of facilities

K. Manikandan

Shortage of staff and furniture, lack of laboratories plague the institution

— Photo : A. Muralitharan

PICTURE OF NEGLECT: One of the classrooms at the Tambaram Municipal Higher Secondary School, Selaiyur.

TAMBARAM: The Tambaram Municipal Higher Secondary School, Selaiyur, is one of the oldest educational institutions in this region. Established more than 100 years ago, the school now presents a picture of neglect.

Started as an elementary school, it was originally situated inside Selaiyur . After being upgraded as a middle school, it was shifted to its present location on Velachery Main Road a few decades ago. Made a high school in 1985, it was upgraded as a Higher Secondary School this year.

As it was mandatory to pay a deposit of Rs. 2 lakh to the Education Department after being upgraded, the Tambaram Municipality contributed Rs. 1 lakh (collected from builders) and the rest was mobilised by Parent Teachers’ Association, teachers and elected representatives in Selaiyur.

There are 650 students in the school, but the 50 students recently admitted in standard XI are the worst affected. Against the required strength of five teachers, there is only one. There is shortage of furniture and there are no laboratories.

Two of the classrooms in the southern end are in a poor state. The roofs walls and floors are damaged and window sills removed from their place.

Teachers said stray cattle dirtied the premises owing to the absence of a compound wall. Anti-social elements camped there at nights and littered the place.

As the school is very close to the outlet point (‘kalangal’) of Selaiyur Lake, surplus water drained through the premises, damaging the only stretch of compound wall around the school.

K .Damodaran, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillor from Ward No. 18, said maintenance of classrooms and buildings were entirely the responsibility of the municipality.

Municipal chairman E. Mani said the local body proposed to spend Rs. 30 lakh to improve facilities at the school. In the first phase, it has sanctioned Rs. 7 lakh to carry out basic repair and maintenance works. As it was the only Municipal Higher Secondary School in Tambaram, there are plans to build well-equipped classrooms and laboratories, he added.

Parent Teachers’ Association members said standard XI students had lost precious time and the government should give priority to improving amenities at such schools.

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