The Government Higher Secondary School in Mogappair, Chennai, which should serve as a beacon of education and enlightenment, is mired in controversy as students raise alarming concerns about the deplorable conditions they endure within its premises.
The harrowing revelations by students paint a grim picture of an unhygienic and neglected government school that is supposedly a ‘model school’. The children studying have been crying out for a cleaner, safer, and more respectful learning environment, only to find their pleas largely unanswered.
One female student, bemoaned the lack of basic facilities for girls, including the absence of proper toilet facilities. “This school doesn’t have toilet facilities for girls and boys, the ceiling has cracks and water leaks through these cracks. Once during our exams, a portion of the ceiling fell down”, she lamented.
The crumbling ceilings have been a source of constant concern, especially during crucial examination periods. When the student brought these issues to the school management’s attention, she was met with indifference and a chilling response: “When everyone has no problem, why are you complaining?”. She even told the authorities that the students would file a police complaint.
The management’s silence and inaction in the face of these grievances have only exacerbated the students’ distress. The students’ attempts to address the glaring issues have been met with hostility, with management allegedly verbally attacking individuals attempting to clean the deteriorating toilets themselves. Shockingly, teachers are reported to be complicit in the mistreatment of students, coercing girls to undertake cleaning duties and resorting to verbal harassment when met with resistance, particularly targeting those whose parents are employed.
Last year’s monsoon season brought heavy water stagnation, yet the management failed to make any efforts to alleviate the situation. The students were forced to study in these substandard conditions. The school’s lax security measures have also raised concerns, as the management reportedly fails to lock the school doors during weekends, allowing outsiders to engage in unruly behavior and liquor consumption within the open classrooms.
The student said, “Last year in Oct, Nov, Dec when it rained heavily, water logging was severe here. We attended classes in this situation’ there were mosquitoes, insects, lizards everywhere and yet they did not bother. They do not lock the school in the weekends, outsiders are playing cricket here, smoke cigarettes too.”
Another student revealed the shocking state of disrepair within the classrooms, with reports of fan vandalism and an overpowering stench emanating from the unsanitary toilets, rendering them unusable even in urgent situations. The Headmaster (HM) of the school has been accused of turning a deaf ear to these grievances, further fueling the sense of neglect and disregard.
The students said, “We don’t know who comes here at night, they break the fans and everything. The gates are always open. If the cleaner/sweeper doesn’t turn up, they ask the girls from each class to do it. If we open the toilet, it is stench-ridden. Even if there is an urgency, we are unable and we do not use the toilet here. We pass urine only at home after school.”
These distressing revelations cast a dark shadow over the education system in Chennai, and raise questions about the state of schools under Chief Minister Stalin’s touted “model school” system.
இந்த அரசு எந்த மாதிரி செயல்படுகிறது என்பதற்கு இந்த “அரசு மாதிரி” பள்ளியே சாட்சி. pic.twitter.com/m4MlqiHKkh
— Selva Kumar (@Selvakumar_IN) November 2, 2023
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram and WhatsApp and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.