No books for 10 lakh kids

Kurnool, Oct. 10: Schoolchildren are the worst hit in the devastating floods that ravaged the town of Kurnool, the gateway to Rayalaseema.

School books have been swept away, cleaning up operations will take time and money, and private schools are demanding that the government bail them out financially.

About 10 lakh students will go to school without textbooks and notebooks when schools reopen on Monday, as they have been washed away in the floods.

It’s a common sight to see students drying their books on terraces, and on roads and other open spaces.

Teachers are concerned about conducting classes without textbooks and notebooks.

Though the district administration extended the Dasara vacation twice, hundreds of schools are yet to begin functioning normally.

About 1,700 schools, both government and private, were submerged under flood water.

The clean up of schools is far from satisfactory. Heaps of mud have accumulated inside the schools and a foul odour emanates from the classes and corridors.

Doctors fear that students will face health problems if they attend schools that are in this condition.

Shockingly, the officials of the school education department and municipal department are engaged in a tussle over who pays for the clean-up.

While the school education department officials say it’s the responsibility of the municipal department to take up sanitation work, the municipal officials say they should be paid by the school department for the purpose.

Managements of private schools have incurred huge losses as the floods damaged furniture, computers, library and buildings.

While some top schools have been spending lakhs of rupees to restore the schools, smaller schools say they need financial help from the government.

“We cannot open the schools unless the government or donors help us. Managements have lost in the range of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. We cannot ask the parents to help us as they too have lost everything in the floods,” said Mr G. Pullaiah, president, Kurnool city private schools’ managements association.

“About 5 lakh students are studying in private schools in the district. The government cannot ignore its responsibility to protect the interests of such a large number of students,” said Mr T. Nagabhushanam Goud, a parent.

The government will provide free textbooks to the five lakh children studying in government schools, but private schools will have to fend for themselves.