Repair of unsafe govt school buildings delayed in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, October 5

The repair work of unsafe government school buildings in the district has been tardy. It is learnt that the authorities have sought an updated report on the progress made so far.

The information collected through an RTI application revealed that as many as 454 rooms of about 85 government school buildings were in a poor condition.

According to sources in the Education Department here, the PWD had already condemned around 220 rooms of 34 schools, but the classes were still on in these buildings. Only three schools have been reconstructed, and work on several others is yet to begin, though directions in this regard were passed over two years ago, added the sources.

A district administration official said the issue recently surfaced when the Deputy Commissioner pulled up officials of the District Education Office for the delay and asked them to submit an updated report within a week.

Alleging that the delay in the completion of the project had forced students to study in unsafe conditions, Kailash Sharma of the All India Parents Association (AIPA) said the delay was due to mismanagement and inefficiency among officials. The state government, in response to a PIL filed by the AIPA, had revealed that several new school buildings had been constructed and construction work on other buildings had started.

Anand Singh, district project coordinator, Samagra Shiksha, Faridabad said the work on school buildings at Anangpur, Faridpur and Dayalpur village and meeting hall of the DEO office had already been assigned. The work on buildings at Tigaon, Mohna and Ballabgarh was 80 per cent completed. The tender for the repair work in 106 school rooms was in process.