Nearly 10K dilapidated school buildings to be demolished

Prayagraj, March 13 (HS): “Nearly 12,177 schools have been zeroed in on across Uttar Pradesh which is either dilapidated or requires urgent renovation. Out of these 12,177 schools, nearly 2,013 will be renovated, and the remaining 9,826 schools are to be razed,” said Vijay Kiran Anand, Director general, education, UP while speaking to HS.

Moreover, 2,195 schools have already been razed by the authorities, and others are expected to be demolished soon. “The dilapidated building raises safety concerns of students studying in these schools and hence their demolition is need of the hour. Action should be taken with immediate effect. A committee should be formed under the district magistrates and action should be taken on the identified buildings,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that the survey of dilapidated school buildings were delayed due to the lethargic attitude of Public Works Department engineers. “They submitted late reports. PWD engineers are too busy to visit schools for surveying buildings and decide which buildings should be demolished,” said an education department official on the condition of anonymity.

When questioned whether the demolition of these schools raises questions about the accommodation of students for the classes, he said,  “In most of these cases, separate buildings have already been formed on the same premises. However, in other cases schools in the vicinity of the dilapidated buildings have been identified and the students will be moved there accordingly.”

Earlier, Renuka Kumar, UP additional principal secretary has ordered BSA’s in the state to identify and demolish dilapidated school buildings. “It was necessary to demolish the dilapidated buildings to ensure the safety of the students,” the order added.

The Uttar Pradesh government had ordered the education department to identify dilapidated school buildings, demolish them and auction the debris and whatever can be retrieved. Complying with the order, Uttar Pradesh education department had instructed the district magistrates across UP to constitute committees in October last year, with the aim of supervising the demolition of dilapidated school buildings. “The state authorities should be informed about the action taken on a regular basis,” said an education dept official while replying to queries by HS over the order.