Students made to study amid human excreta in Nagpur
Abhishek Choudhari, TNN | Jul 24, 2013, 03.48 AM IST
Add to the poor state of affairs here, the school doesn't have a principal.
NAGPUR: It was supposed to be a surprise visit by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation'seducation committee to its largest school for checking the quality of midday meal, but they were served a lot more on their plate. The conditions at NMC's Sanjay Nagar school atDipty Signal locality are appalling.
Education committee chief Chetna Tank was shocked when informed about human faeceslying unattended inside a classroom, with students still there! A staff member told Tank, "A student did this and ran away but we could not clean it up because of staff shortage."
As students of Std I watched the mess from their seats, the staff member continued, "Our safai kamgar (cleaning staff) is on leave and that is why there is nobody else to do this." The school's sole peon too refused to clean the mess saying this was not his job. The classroom floors, even otherwise, seemed full of dirt and clearly indicated that they hadn't been swept for days.
Stepping out of the classroom did not mean relief from the stench, asthe urinals down the corridor were stinking. Education committee member and former standing committee chairman Pravin Bhisikar said, "I wonder if they clean the urinals at all. The stench is horrible and being so near to the classrooms means there is no respite."
The stench and filth were not the only reasons why kids were unable to concentrate on their books. They were simply unable to read because of almost pitch dark conditions. The primary section of this 5,000-student school has been without electricity for 40 days.
A furious Tank came down heavily on school staff. "Upon checking with the electricity department it turned out that the school has not done proper follow up making students suffer. It is their responsibility to escalate the matter if electricity department is not heeding to their complaint," said Tank.
Some classrooms do not even have the option to open the windows and let in sunlight because of these are also used as storerooms. Stacks upon stacks of office supplies, uniforms etc were piled up against windows ensuring they'll remain closed all year round. Rice sacks for midday meals too stacked up in a room without proper cover and security leading to pilferage.
An entire section of Std X students find themselves without benches and have to squat the entire day on dirty floors to study.
Add to the poor state of affairs here, the school doesn't have a principal. The previous one was suspended over allegations of molesting female students, leaving the entire school to function on autopilot mode with zero accountability.
A flabbergasted Tank said, "We had come here to check the midday meal quality but found ourselves face to face with too many problems. However I have spoken to the concerned department and we will have a principal appointed this week itself. After that the other remedial steps will be taken to bring the school out of this mess."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...an-excreta-in-Nagpur/articleshow/21289889.cms
Abhishek Choudhari, TNN | Jul 24, 2013, 03.48 AM IST
Add to the poor state of affairs here, the school doesn't have a principal.
NAGPUR: It was supposed to be a surprise visit by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation'seducation committee to its largest school for checking the quality of midday meal, but they were served a lot more on their plate. The conditions at NMC's Sanjay Nagar school atDipty Signal locality are appalling.
Education committee chief Chetna Tank was shocked when informed about human faeceslying unattended inside a classroom, with students still there! A staff member told Tank, "A student did this and ran away but we could not clean it up because of staff shortage."
As students of Std I watched the mess from their seats, the staff member continued, "Our safai kamgar (cleaning staff) is on leave and that is why there is nobody else to do this." The school's sole peon too refused to clean the mess saying this was not his job. The classroom floors, even otherwise, seemed full of dirt and clearly indicated that they hadn't been swept for days.
Stepping out of the classroom did not mean relief from the stench, asthe urinals down the corridor were stinking. Education committee member and former standing committee chairman Pravin Bhisikar said, "I wonder if they clean the urinals at all. The stench is horrible and being so near to the classrooms means there is no respite."
The stench and filth were not the only reasons why kids were unable to concentrate on their books. They were simply unable to read because of almost pitch dark conditions. The primary section of this 5,000-student school has been without electricity for 40 days.
A furious Tank came down heavily on school staff. "Upon checking with the electricity department it turned out that the school has not done proper follow up making students suffer. It is their responsibility to escalate the matter if electricity department is not heeding to their complaint," said Tank.
Some classrooms do not even have the option to open the windows and let in sunlight because of these are also used as storerooms. Stacks upon stacks of office supplies, uniforms etc were piled up against windows ensuring they'll remain closed all year round. Rice sacks for midday meals too stacked up in a room without proper cover and security leading to pilferage.
An entire section of Std X students find themselves without benches and have to squat the entire day on dirty floors to study.
Add to the poor state of affairs here, the school doesn't have a principal. The previous one was suspended over allegations of molesting female students, leaving the entire school to function on autopilot mode with zero accountability.
A flabbergasted Tank said, "We had come here to check the midday meal quality but found ourselves face to face with too many problems. However I have spoken to the concerned department and we will have a principal appointed this week itself. After that the other remedial steps will be taken to bring the school out of this mess."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...an-excreta-in-Nagpur/articleshow/21289889.cms