Education Department teams visit flood-hit schools to assess damage

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 24

Teams constituted by the Education Department today reached schools, where floods have left a trail of destruction. Notably, The Tribune had highlighted how the toilets, classrooms in the schools were unsafe and making the students sit in the rooms or sending them to the toilets was not an easy decision for the teachers.

The teams visited Government Primary School, Mandala Channa, Government Primary School, Jania Chahal, Government Middle School, Mehrajwala, etc.

Unsafe toilets with cracks on walls, cement falling off roof and sunk floor can lead to any untoward incident, the teachers are fearing.

Some send students to their homes, if situated nearby, and others ask the school staff to accompany them. Plans are afoot to send them to a nearby gurdwara. Even making students sit inside rooms make them wary because of the horrifying conditions. Schools are lacking even basic amenities after floods.

The situation is worse in Government Primary School (GPS), Mandala Chana, GPS Jania Chahal, GPS Mehrajwala and Government Middle School (GMS), Mehrajwala.

While the attendance in these schools is thin, teachers say that looking at the situation of the school, parents are not willing to send their wards to the institutes. In GPS Jania Chahal, there are six washrooms of which two were old and the work on the rest is still to be completed.

Same is the condition in GPS Mandala Channa where the toilets are unfit to use and during last some days, the teachers have been making the students sit outside the classes due to fear of collapse.

Ravinder Kang, one of the team members who visited today, said that they would make a report by tomorrow and would send the requirements to the Education Department.