The Culture Department is expected to wait for another week before examining the arguments supporting and opposing its proposal to accord protected monument status to a colonial-era building of St. Joseph’s Anglo-Indian Girls Higher Secondary School in the city.
V. Venu, Secretary, Cultural Affairs, told The Hindu on Thursday that anyone could file their opinion either for or against the proposal, by September 27. Later, the department would examine the arguments in detail and conduct hearings. “The opinion of experts will be sought and an inquiry will be held before a final decision is taken,” he said. The gazette notification declaring the State government’s intention to declare the building a protected monument was issued on July 27. The school was the first such institution set up to empower girls in the then Malabar.
Meanwhile, the school management has objected to the proposal, claiming that the building was not 156-year-old as projected by a group of old students. Sister Nidhisha, Principal, said that the structure was constructed only in 1920 to accommodate the increasing number of students. “Around 600 students were studying in the building then. The total number has doubled since then. Over 60 students are jammed in each class now. Parents and students had been complaining about the lack of facilities for long,” she said. Plans to introduce smart class rooms in the building had hit a roadblock because of the limited infrastructure.
Sr. Nidhisha said that the management had explored options to retain the building and the decision to pull it down was taken with much pain. “We had discussed with experts whether the building could be salvaged. It is not practical to add additional floors to the adjacent building,” she said.
Asked about the report submitted by a group of architects, who are also former students of the school, she claimed the recommendations were not acceptable as they were not practical. “If they are genuinely interested in the progress of the school, they should collectively buy land and donate it to us so that we can construct a new building there,” she said.
Varun Bhaskar, president of the PTA, echoed her views, saying that space constraints had been a problem whenever there were debates about improving the infrastructure. “We understand its heritage value. But the academic interests of students too should be kept in mind,” he said.
