Around 100 students of Government High School, Vasco had a lucky escape last Saturday when pieces of the overhead concrete slab came crashing down hours before classes could resume for the day. To add to students' misery, many complained of electrical shocks from the structure. The students were subsequently shifted to nearby schools, and electricians were roped in to detect the fault in the power circuit.
The incident once again explains the lack of attention to government schools, let alone the quality of education being imparted there. It is criminal negligence to expose young students to such risks, especially when they cannot comprehend and pinpoint the dangers of such an environment. Worse is when consistent complaints are not acted upon. And this is not the first time. Last July, two Valpoi government higher secondary school students sustained minor injuries when pieces of the ceiling came down.
Many of the 700-odd government schools are in pathetic condition with serious structural issues that pose a risk to students. From leaking ceilings to faulty wiring, students in many places continue to be exposed to an unsafe schooling environment, and authorities have only shown reluctance to act. Take the case of the government-run Morpila Primary and High School. It took a protest by students and parents on Day-1 of the academic year last month to draw the department's attention to initiate repairs of the dilapidated school structure. Students braved even the morning drizzle to convey their message.
It would be, however, wrong to say that the government has ignored all its schools. There have been periodic renovations and upgrades happening. In 2019, the government disclosed that it took up 300 schools in Bardez, Bicholim and Sattari for repairs. Another 50 primary schools were identified subsequently, and GSIDC was tasked with repair work.
The problem is that the government does not have a mechanism to undertake periodic surveys and structural audits of its schools. It largely depends on persistent complaints from parents, activists or political players, sometimes protests. The Morpila incident is an example. In Khola-Canacona, parents continued to raise school infrastructure issues for four years, and the issue of repairing Vasco and Baina government schools was raised in the monsoon Assembly session last year.
The government cannot rest on the argument that the renovation of schools has been a work in progress and, on that pretext, continue classes in even dilapidated structures. There has to be an audit to identify the structural health of every government school, and repairs have to be undertaken based on the report. In the interim, alternate arrangements must be made, and students need to be shifted to safer premises.
Another worry is the consistent drop in enrolment in government-run schools against a corresponding rise in admissions to private-run schools. While the cost of education may be irrelevant to a large section of Goan society, the focus has undoubtedly been on better learning and a conducive environment.
When Goa is set to take a quantum leap into the future with the introduction of the National Education Policy, the government has to introspect on the health of its schools and put the safety of students ahead of ambition. After all, the NEP is primarily about creating the right kind of environment for students.
