Telangana HC seeks report on state govt schools’ infrastructure

The Telangana High Court on Friday asked the State Government to submit a status report on the infrastructure and amenities available at the government schools. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S Nanda gave the direction on a petition filed by a law student B Abhiram from Hyderabad which he based on a story published in the media on June 13 that government schools in interior and tribal areas of Kumarambheem-Asifabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Siddipet, Rajanna Sircilla, Mancherial, Nizamabad, and Jangaon are lacking in basic amenities.

The report said that one school was operating out of a hut in Janduguda hamlet in Tiryani mandal in Kumarambheem-Asifabad district for the last 10 years. Even the hut was a gift given by chef Jekam Pchubai. In a primary school in Ponnaram in Mandamarri mandal in Mancherial district, as many as 26 children from various grades are required to attend classes in a single room which is also used as a cowshed. According to the report, classrooms at a school in Joorpur, Nandipet mandal, Nizamabad district are about to collapse. It was also brought out that female students were sometimes compelled to use unclean restrooms.

The Right to Education Act requires the government and local authorities to provide basic infrastructure including school buildings, proper classrooms, sanitary washrooms, drinking water, and other facilities, according to the petitioner’s counsel T Swetcha. According to her, failing to provide the same is a breach of human rights.