No government school classroom in the district is officially identified as ‘unsafe’, with the Department of Public Instruction claiming to have already demolished 495 such classrooms. These classrooms were razed two years ago after taking special permission from the State government.
“This had to be done as a precautionary measure for the sake of children’s safety,” said H.R. Basappa, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, Mysuru.
However, he told The Hindu that all block education officers in the district had been told to verify if there are any more run-down classrooms that require repair or demolition.
The condition of classrooms in the State has come under the scanner following the wall collapse in a classroom in Belagavi on Monday, in which two children died.
Sources in the department said 495 classrooms have had to be razed to prevent their use. “The knocking down of such classrooms did not lead to space constraints as there were other classrooms in the schools,” a source said.
However, a proposal was sent to the government two years ago, after the demolition of dilapidated classrooms, seeking funds for building 183 classrooms in schools with considerable student strength. Funds are being awaited.
A couple of years ago, several buildings housing government primary and high schools in the district were found to be in dilapidated condition. The heads of schools in Mysuru taluk were directed not to hold classes in rooms which they felt were “hazardous”. The issue was placed before the ZP, which got the State’s consent to pull down the dilapidated classrooms in 2014.
