Hyderabad: Crumbling School Exposes Govt Apathy

Hyderabad: A government primary school in the heart of Hyderabad continues to function out of borrowed workers’ quarters in unsafe conditions, months after a Union minister sought land for a permanent building.

Government Girls Primary School, Sithapalmandi-II has operated for decades without its own campus. In a letter dated December 15, 2025, Union minister G. Kishan Reddy requested allotment of 500 square yards for construction of a permanent building, but activists say there has been no response.

“The school is in a completely dilapidated condition. If it rains, the school has to be closed,” said R. Venkat Reddy, national convener of the MV Foundation. Classes are held in small, dark rooms on the first floor of Dairy Development Corporation quarters, originally meant for employees’ children. “Second and third classes are in one tiny room, fourth and fifth in another. There is no proper teaching environment,” he said.

Access has worsened conditions further. “The headmaster is physically challenged and cannot climb the stairs. He sits on the ground floor with just a chair, while children go up to attend classes,” Reddy explained.

Basic facilities have collapsed. “There are no toilets now. Water supply has been stopped, slowly children are leaving the school,” he said. Around 50 children, mostly from nearby bastis, remain enrolled. With private schools dominating the area, poor families have little choice. “The nearest high school is about five kilometres away. Many children cross railway tracks to reach it, which is very dangerous,” he added.

Reddy has called for setting up a Telangana Public School at the site, in line with recent education proposals. “If a Telangana Public School is set up here, at least 1,500 children can enrol. Right now, they are being pushed into private schools,” he said.