No funds, no badi: Karimnagar's Chintakunta primary school shut over unpaid bills
In Chintakunta MPPS, around 250 students study from classes 1 to 5. For the five classes, there are just five classrooms.
By Nimisha S Pradeep Published on 13 Sep 2022 4:30 AM GMT
Hyderabad: On 6 September, the Mandal Parishad Primary School in Chintakunta in Kothapalli mandal of Karimnagar district was shut down. The 250 students of the school had to leave their classrooms and sit outside, many of them too young to comprehend what was happening. The reason for the closure is the Telangana government's failure to clear the pending bills. Despite being a school under the 'Mana Ooru Mana Badi' programme, the school authorities say they have not received even a penny.
The Telangana government started the 'Mana Ooru Mana Badi' programme for the overall development of infrastructure and other facilities in around 26,000 schools across the state. But many schools in the state complain they have not received the funds assured to them under the programme.
In Chintakunta MPPS, around 250 students study from classes 1 to 5. For the five classes, there are just five classrooms.
Srikanth, the school committee chairman, spent Rs. 4.5 lakhs to improve the infrastructure of the school. Out of Rs. 4.5 lakhs, he gave Rs. 3.5 lakhs from his own pocket and borrowed the rest from friends and acquaintances. With the money collected, he completed some of the water pump and electricity works at the school.
"I used good quality cement and built good toilets so that all the girls can use the washroom in the school," said Srikanth. But he understood that he could not run the school for a long time with the funds he had collected. Also, some of the money that he had collected are due to be returned. When Srikanth realised that he had insufficient funds and could no longer run the school, he locked the classrooms on 6 September. On 7 September, a video of him locking the schools surfaced on Twitter. In the video, the students were seen standing on the verandah and sitting under the shade of trees.
Narayanaswamy, the headmaster of the school, said the school remained closed for an hour after which the mandal education officer (MEO) and the district education officer (DEO) visited the school. After an hour the school was reopened. He also added that on 9 September, the government had disbursed Rs. 25,000 to the school authorities.
NewsMeter had tried contacting the Kothapally MEO and Karimnagar DEO but both have not responded to our calls. The copy will be updated once we hear from them.
