Chennai: Minister for education K. Pandiarajan on Saturday said he is most likely to consider the demand of Kamarajapuram residents for a high school for boys.
On Saturday morning, residents including women and students at Kamarajapuram in Ambattur resorted to a hunger strike demanding the allocation of vacant land available around a corporation middle school for upgradation to a higher secondary school.
For long, the residents have been demanding a high school, as there is only one government higher secondary school in Ambattur for girls as of now.
“There is one government aided school and a few private schools,” said advocate G Pugazhvedan, adding that the school would help boys who come from poor and lower middle-class families settled in Kamarajapuram.
According to zonal officials, the 4-acre vacant land near the middle school will be used for the construction of police quarters and an office of the joint commissioner.
Last week, residents gave a representation to the state education minister who had promised to look into the issue. Today, as the minister got down of his car and enquired about the protest near Uzhavar Sandai, people were hopeful of action from the state.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the minister said: “Hopefully it will be a positive response. They had met me last week. I will be reviewing the issue and we need to evaluate the graphic map of the land, as there is a school within 1 km of this area. They are not demanding a new school but an upgradation of the already existing school.”
Their major concern is students are not able to study beyond class 8 and so we will most likely consider it. There will be value in upgrading the school. With strengthening of government schools, we have brought the dropout rate to minimal numbers,” he added.
