Coming apart at the seams

Coming apart at the seams


Tasneem Zavery First Published : 16 Jun 2010 02:53:09 AM IST
BANGALORE: The sorry state of infrastructure is evident even before one enters the Corporation Girls High School in Austin Town. The gate is old and rusty and barbed wires sag from atop the compound wall. There are broken waterpipes all over leading nowhere, the window panes are shattered and all over the building, the paint is peeling off.
An aluminum sheet serves as the roof of one part of the building and a chipped staircase leads up to the classrooms and offices. The doors of some of the classrooms are broken and the blackboards are old.
Besides, tables and chairs of good quality are sorely needed.
Water is a problem. “There is no drinking water supply in this school,” said Namashivayam NA, a member of the development committee of BBMP schools. “The compound wall has to be raised and proper fencing done,” he added.
“This is an old building so all this is bound to be in this state. There has to be some improvement in infrastructure.
This is an educational institute,” said principal G Subramanaiyan.
The principal is optimistic that there will be change soon.
The faculty and development committee members pointed out that a new building built next to the old structure has 12 classrooms but is opened only during examinations.
The school also does not have the required number of teachers. It has three sections - two English and one Kannada - for classes VIII and IX, while class X has one English and one Kannada section. Each of these classes has about 40 students but there are only 14 teachers, of which only six are permanent staff with two of these teaching in other schools as well. “I require at least 14 permanent teachers, so that the students get sufficient attention from teachers,” said the principal.
This year, there were 12 dropouts, all of them from migrant families.
Besides, the pass percentage has dropped with only 21 students out of 114 (only one with distinction) passing this year, compared with 40 per cent of students passing in 2009.
The Agram ward councillor, Sarla Mohan, was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts by Expresso to contact her.