Govt school building in Dakshina Kannada poses threat to 135 kids | Mangaluru News – Times of India

MANGALURU: The 55-year-old government higher primary school in Bhaktakodi, Puttur taluk, which has recorded good admissions and has an adequate number of teachers, is in dire straits in terms of infrastructure.
All classrooms are dilapidated with cracks or affected by termites. Children and staff fear the school that celebrated its golden jubilee in 2017, may collapse any time.
Mudnoor panchayat member Kamlesh S told STOI that over the years they have been submitting memoranda to officials of the department of public instruction, zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat and local representatives when they visited the school. “No one has heeded our requests. We don’t want to put children’s life at risk due to the dilapidated building,” he said.
Kamlesh said the school has 135 children from classes 1 to 7. It has nine classrooms, of which four are completely dilapidated and cannot be used. The DPI had locked these classrooms since they are not safe.
The remaining five classrooms, though dilapidated, are used for classes.
“The school has seen no maintenance since it was shut for months due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The walls are damaged by termites and all corners have developed cracks. We want five new classrooms. We’ll organise a protest along with SDMC members, parents and villagers if our demand is not met,” he added.
Vasanth Poojary, president, school development and monitoring committee, said due to the building’s state, parents have expressed their fear of sending children to the school. “We want the director of public instruction (DPI) to take immediate action and avoid a disaster,” he said.