‘Admission started’ says a board hung over the gate of Government LP School, Karapparamba. However, neither the staff, nor the Kozhikode Corporation that owns the school knows where the school would run in the next academic year.
This 30-year-old LP school that caters to the poorer sections of the society had hardly 20 students in the recent years in all the four classes. Now with an unfit certificate issued on the school building by the Corporation’s Engineering Wing, the authorities are wondering whether to close the school down or shift it to another location temporarily.
The building has been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. The ceiling has come off from many parts of the roof. Leakage has damaged the wooden structures. There are cracks on the walls too. The Corporation council has paid least attention to the school and conveniently forgotten to set aside any fund for its development.
Interestingly, it is one of the only two schools under the Corporation with enough space as prescribed in the Kerala Education Rules. The school building stands in 1.5 acre land and has at least 12 rooms in both the storeys combined. Hence, there is enough land to construct another building for the school in the compound where the present one stands.
The school authorities had made an effort to move the school temporarily to the nearby Government High School building in the previous year. But the request was denied by the High School authorities on grounds that there wasn’t enough space. “This year however, the High School has got a new building and hence may be able to accommodate the LP school”, said local councillor Beena Rajan.
Education Standing Committee Chairman of the Corporation M.Radhakrishnan blamed the condition of the school building on faulty construction, as not many buildings get so damaged usually within 30 years of construction. “Our plan is to refurbish just enough classes for the school to go about temporarily until a better building is made. Or else it has to be moved out to another building for this academic year”, he said.
At present there are four teachers and a peon working in the school for just 16 students, of whom four are to pass out this year.
