The Department of School Education has identified around 304 dilapidated buildings that are unsafe for students in government schools across the levels of primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools in Coimbatore district.
Chief Educational Officer N. Geetha said on Friday that following the inspection carried out in all government schools, 187 damaged buildings were identified in primary and middle schools, 44 in high schools and 73 in higher secondary schools.
Over 200 members from the School Education Department, comprising four district educational officers, 23 block educational officers, 80 block resource teacher educators and around 100 headmasters of government schools, were engaged in the inspection works, Ms. Geetha said. The inspections commenced in Coimbatore district in the wake of the wall collapse at a government-aided school in Tirunelveli that claimed the lives of three students, and continued for around a week.
Details pertaining to the dilapidated buildings in the government schools were submitted to the Public Works Department (PWD) and the respective Block Development Officers (BDO), she said. “The PWD and BDO have started the demolition works,” Ms. Geetha said.
Regarding private and government-aided schools, the CEO said the Department of School Education had inspected these schools in Coimbatore district and would soon send notices to the individual schools to demolish the damaged buildings to ensure the safety of students.
