While children across the State in government schools were received with flowers, decorated walls, and furnished classrooms on Thursday, students of Maicha Government Lower Primary School, Charavathur, were at a temple auditorium, where the school has been functioning for the past one year.
The school is functioning from the Vayelkara Bhagavathi temple auditorium at Maicha after the school lost its fitness certificate and the buildings were demolished in December last year. Since then, the temple auditorium has been the classroom for the 50-odd students studying from Class I to IV, says V. Suresh, president of the temple.
“It is the only government school here and the majority of students is from nearby areas. We offered the temple auditorium temporarily until a new building is constructed. However, even after a year work has not started,” he says.
Mr. Suresh says the school has to be closed during temple functions and teachers rearrange school tables before festivals/functions. They compensate by taking additional classes on Saturdays and Sundays. The government, which has been doing a lot for public schools, should look into the issues faced by the students here, he says.
T.P. Manoharan, headmaster in-charge, says the school was started in 1935 and the building was reconstructed by the Nirmithi Kendra under the District Primary Education Programme in 1997. The school did not get the fitness certificate last year and the building was demolished in December. The school, which is situated in a wetland, gets inundated in rain.
Mr. Manoharan says under the Kasaragod Development Package, ₹1 crore has been sanctioned for a school building. However, so far only soil testing has been done.
Only six children joined the school this year, says Mr. Manoharan adding that with only a few admissions the strength has come down to 36 students from about 50 last year.
Construction of the school building could not be started due to the delay in carrying out the soil test, says M. Manjusha, ward member of the Charvathur grama panchayat. She says the test report has now been handed over to the authorities concerned. It will prepare a plan and the PWD will be tasked with constructing the building.
Once started, the works are expected to be completed by year-end, she says.
