The Hindu : Front Page : Schools in 248 villages being renovated

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Monday, Sep 15, 2008
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Schools in 248 villages being renovated

R. Sairam

Under ‘Panchayat Union Schools Renovation Programme’

— Photo: S. James

ROOM FOR CREATIVITY: Activity-based learning classes for Standard III and IV in progress at Madurai East Panchayat Union Middle School at Tirumogur in Madurai district.

MADURAI: The school experience of several hundreds of students studying in 400-odd panchayat union schools in Madurai district has been improving substantially under a State Government scheme.

Under the ‘Panchayat Union Schools Renovation Programme,’ Rs. 3.38 crore-worth renovation in 278 panchayat union schools would be completed by Monday, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Project Officer Anshul Mishra told The Hindu.

While these works were for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08, 253 buildings of 128 panchayat union schools in another 86 village panchayats had been chosen for the current fiscal. The Rs. 1.4 crore-worth works had started.

A total of 840 buildings in 406 panchayat union schools in 248 panchayats were being renovated at a cost of Rs. 4.78 crore.

Low-level blackboards

“We are painting entire class rooms with low-level blackboards at a height of two feet from the floor so that children can reach them and scribble,” he said

Works under two categories were taken up: Priority Works and Special Works. White / colour washing, flooring repairs, painting blackboards, repairing roofs and cracks in walls fall under first category.

Complete replacement of tile roof and conversion of asbestos roofing into Mangalore-tile roofing fall under the latter.

A committee convened by Block Development Officers of the Block Panchayat, who also execute the work, selected the schools for taking up renovation works.

Mr. Mishra said that 248 of the total 431 village panchayats had been covered and the remaining 183 would be covered in the next two years.

Madurai East Panchayat Union Middle School at Tirumohur near here had benefited immensely from this project. Works worth Rs. 2.61 lakh had been completed at the school.

School Headmaster R. Natarajan said that the ‘low-level’ black boards proved very useful during activity-based classes for Standards I to IV. “The students practise writing on the boards.”

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