The State has 2,731 government schools that were established more than hundred years ago. Their condition today, however, belies Karnataka’s commitment to education then at a time when India was still fighting for Independence. A majority of the schools are in dire need of a facelift as well as an upgrade in their infrastructure.
Many of these buildings’ roofs have developed cracks, and the dilapidated classrooms are not usable during the monsoons. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had stated in his budget that these schools would be given a facelift in a phased manner. A sum of ₹5 crore was allocated to improve a hundred schools and the government order was issued recently. However, when divvied up, each government school will get an average of ₹5 lakh, which is not enough. The money allocated to improve these heritage buildings has been criticised by heritage experts and architects.
Conservation architect Pankaj Modi said that ₹5 lakh per school was a good start to carry out “urgent repair works in a building that required immediate attention”. He, however, pointed out that the deeper restoration work would require more funds. “Depending on the extent of the problem, a three to five classroom school would require funds ranging between ₹15 lakh to ₹25 lakh,” he said.
A headmaster of a government high school, which has completed 100 years, said that the contractors had given an estimate of ₹50 lakh to carry out restoration work of the school.
“The school is in a shambles and nearly four classrooms cannot be used when it rains as the rainwater seeps in the classrooms. We are forced to combine classes and teach the students as children cannot be made to sit in the rooms,” he said.
The restoration of Fort High School, which began in April this year, is being undertaken by INTACH at a cost of ₹2.4 crore. Mr. Modi, however, said that the school was very large compared to other government schools as it had 28 classrooms, labs and an auditorium. Primary and Secondary Education Minister N. Mahesh said that they would also seek support of non-governmental organisations and elected representatives to give a facelift to these century-old buildings.
