598 Ranchi govt schools directed to repair kitchens

Ranchi: The Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) has directed the school management committees (SMC) of 598 state government schools in the district to renovate their kitchens within a fortnight.
The council has fixed a deadline for the committees to complete the work between March 22 and March 25. Once the work is completed, the junior engineer and the block elementary education officer (BEEO) of the blocks concerned will inspect the quality of work done and report to the JEPC about the same.
“A little more than 5 crore has been allocated for repair and renovation of kitchens and storage rooms of the schools identified in the district. The budget has been set in accordance with the estimated expenditures as mentioned in the applications submitted by the schools. On the basis of a request submitted by the schools to the education department, the institutes have been instructed to execute the necessary repairs," a JEPC official told TOI on Sunday on anonymity.
The school management committees were issued the direction on March 10.
Meanwhile, SMCs of some schools said it will be difficult to finish the work within such a short time.
The SMC of Government Middle School, Lalpur, said, "In the kitchen, there are several unfinished tasks, including floor construction, roofing, mouldings, and furnishings, which may not be completed within the specified date. In addition, the amount will be reimbursed to the schools following the completion of the work but the schools lack funds."
Echoing the same statement, engineers said repair cannot be done within the deadline. Junior engineer Anjani Kumar said, "Work such as plastering and root treatment can be done on time in some schools. But for institutes having more work meeting the deadline will be difficult."
The teachers' association demanded the budget be granted before the repairs are carried out.
All Jharkhand Primary Teachers Association spokesperson Naseem Ahmed said, "Several SMCs are short on funds. Why is the department’s work delayed and why have the SMCs not been informed earlier when the applications were submitted?"