BASURI DESAI
basuri@herald-goa.com
Risking the lives of 44 students, the Government Primary School of Bairo St Cruz still continues to conduct classes in an old dilapidated building of the health department.
The state of the building where the teenagers are being educated is a study in poor maintenance. The pieces from the ceiling fall every other day, the main door is not in proper shape and the staircase to the first floor may collapse any moment.
It is a shocking picture and despite several reminders to the education department by the Headmistress of the school to shift the school to a safer place, it is being ignored risking the lives of the teenagers.
The school has been in existence in Bairo St Cruz for several decades but was operating from private premises. It was however shifted to the health department building a few years back as the building was going in for major repairs.
The Headmistress in her letter to thein charge of the taluka for the education department informed them about the main door and the cracks on the ceiling and the fear of it all falling down any moment. This correspondence to the department was done more than a year ago.
“I have personally visited the school following complaints from a few parents, it is in a dilapidated condition and before a tragic incident occurs the authorities should initiate some action and shift the students out”, said Andrea Pereira, a local resident.
The Sarpanch of the village panchayat St Cruz, Mariano Araujo said the panchayat had written to the education department to use the second floor of the panchayat building for the school but it was ignored.
“We are ready to give space to run the school, I have personally spoken to the director of education but till now nothing has been done. Government should take some action immediately”, he said.
It is an ironic situation throughout Goa of the state of the Government primary schools. The records reveal that in the last three years, 60 schools have been closed permanently. In 2013-14, a total of 850 primary schools were operational in Goa but the number dropped to 815 in 2014-15 and further declined to 790 in 2015-16, while in 2016-17 it further case down to 781 and in current academic year only 757 remained operational.
In whole Tiswadi only 36 Government primary schools are operational in current academic year as compared to 53 five years back (2012-13).
