The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : MP, students observe fast

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Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

MP, students observe fast

A.V. Ragunathan

Seek bigger building for Ulundurpet school

SEEKING BETTER FACILITIES: Tindivnam MP K. Dhanraj addressing students observing a fast in front of the Ulundurpet Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School on Saturday.

VILLUPURAM: Tindivanam MP K. Dhanraj observed a fast in front of the Ulundurpet Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School on Saturday demanding suitable accommodation for the school. Hundreds of girl students joined the protest.

Mr. Dhanraj said that the high school was started in 1963 on 45 cents of land and was made a higher secondary school in 1994. With a total strength of 2,400 students now, the school was facing space constraint. At present, each class had 140 students and there were 900 students in the Plus One and Plus Two.

The school did not have a laboratory, playground and toilets. For the want of space three classes — sixth to eighth — were being conducted in sheds owned by the nearby marketing committee.

However, owing to the heavy arrival of paddy in the current season, the marketing committee authorities had disallowed the classes and this aggravated the problem, Mr. Dhanraj said.

Even though the school was located within the Cuddalore Parliamentary constituency, about 1,000 students from villages in Thirunavalur and Thiruvennainallur blocks (in the Tindivanam constituency) were attending the school, Mr. Dhanraj said.

The “half-hearted efforts” made earlier to purchase land from either the Transport Corporation or the Hindu Religious and Cultural Endowment Department did not fructify, he alleged.

Following a plethora of complaints from parents and teachers, he had written last month to School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Chief Educational Officer P.A. Naresh last month.

Mr. Dhanraj said he had also mentioned that if no action was taken, he would resort to hunger strike on January 5. On December 22 last, he had received a letter from the CEO stating that the MP could help the school tackle the situation.

Mr. Dhanraj wondered how the CEO could redirect the problem to him instead of offering a solution.

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