The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Condition of north Chennai schools leaves much to be desired city pulse

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Monday, May 12, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Condition of north Chennai schools leaves much to be desired city pulse

Meera Srinivasan

Photo: V. Ganesan

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: A classroom of an aided school at Vyasarpadi. —

CHENNAI: North Chennai students proved their mettle, securing some of the top ranks in the State in this year’s Class XII (HSC) examination. All the same, this part of the city, home to thousands of students from underprivileged sections, still seems to have a long way to go in terms of improving the condition of schools.

While poor infrastructure plagues many schools, violation of regulations seems to be the norm in many others. At an aided school in Vyasarpadi, one big hall with an asbestos shed above serves as classrooms for three sections of Class III. Students’ work as part of the Activity-Based Learning is put up in the classrooms. There are no fans or any furniture in these rooms.

“We want our child to study even it means going to a school that is not very well-equipped. As long as she learns something useful, it is okay,” said a tea stall owner in the locality, who sends his daughter there.

Some private and government-aided schools in areas such as Vyasarpadi and Thiruvotriyur function at buildings that once used to be homes or wedding halls. A nursery and primary school in the locality is all of three small rooms and a narrow fleet of stairs leading to another tiny room on the first floor.

While most of these schools proclaim affiliation to the State or Matriculation boards in their name plates, the question of how they obtained recognition arises, given their total area and the poor infrastructure.

“The government and Corporation schools in the locality have been doing very well. But some of the smaller private schools here are pathetic,” remarked a senior teacher of a Matriculation school in north Chennai.

A civic activist in the locality said their forum received several complaints regarding poor condition of the toilets in these schools. “Many of the government schools here have very poor sanitation. We often have parents telling us that there are several problems in the distribution of noon meals in these schools,” he said, on condition of anonymity.

An official of the School Education Department said monthly review meetings would be organised, where parents and teachers can give their feedback. Issues addressed in these meeting would include academics and infrastructure, he said.

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