The Panchayat Union Primary School in Anaiyur here, where around 250 students are studying, has been languishing with infrastructural issues with no solution in sight, thanks to the indecisiveness of Madurai Corporation and the administration of West Panchayat Union over who should maintain the school.
While the panchayat union officials claim that the responsibility was with Madurai Corporation since Anaiyur was annexed with the Corporation in 2011, Corporation officials allege that the school had not been formally handed over to them yet.
A dilapidated building in the school, which developed cracks in the ceiling, was demolished last year during the monsoons after the parents and residents of the area came out in protest. However, a replacement building was yet to be constructed.
Teachers complained that there was acute shortage of space as the children were now accommodated in the remaining three small buildings and the veranda.
R. Harichandran, president of the School Management Committee (SMC), said that area residents pooled in money recently to provide concrete flooring in the veranda.
He said that two of the other three buildings have developed leaks in the ceilings. “There are big holes in a building which has tin roof. The other building was constructed in 1935 and is in dire need of maintenance work,” he said.
G. Gurunathan, whose son studies in the school, said that since majority of the residents hailed from lower income families, the government school was beneficial. “The teachers are quite committed here. The only problem was the infrastructure. The classrooms do not even have desks and benches,” he said.
Unlike a few government primary schools, where the number of students is declining, the teachers of the school in Anaiyur said that the enrolment was on the rise. Mr. Harichandran said that repeated complaints to the district administration and MLAs and MPs had not helped. “Rainy season is going to start. The administration should at least carry out maintenance work immediately,” he urged.
Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri, who inspected the area recently, said that it was not an isolated issue as a few such schools in the newly annexed areas were yet to be handed over to the Corporation. “We are willing to fix the issues immediately as soon as they hand it over to us,” he said.
An official from the District Rural Development Agency said that school must have been transferred out of the Panchayat Union when Anaiyur became a Municipality years back. “There were delays from both the sides. The process has been expedited now. It will happen soon,” the official said.
