Fitness check of school buildings under way in Kozhikode
The engineering team under the Local Self-Government department (LSGD) has started evaluating the fitness of school buildings in Kozhikode district to ensure the safety of students as the new academic year is round the corner. Around 1,300 school buildings will be covered by the ongoing fitness check in compliance with the State government's safety instructions.
The process is expected to cover all government-aided and unaided schools in two weeks. Under the revised norms, fitness certificates will be made mandatory for even temporary facilities arranged for the development or maintenance of the existing buildings. Instructions have also been issued to schools to complete all maintenance works by May 27.
Education department officials confirmed that the fitness check would be comprehensive and would cover amenities, electronic equipment, and office accessories. The condition of wells, drinking water supply systems, and comfort stations would be specifically recorded before issuing fitness certificates, they added.
An engineer associated with the inspection team said any safety flaws noticed during field-level inspections would lead to the temporary withholding of fitness certificates as per the Kerala Education Rules. He added that the process would ensure that all buildings would be fit to withstand monsoon-related challenges.
Heads of a few grama panchayats said all emergency maintenance works had been completed in a majority of schools in consultation with parent-teacher associations. They pointed out that the ongoing maintenance works in a few buildings could be completed within a week.
According to officials, school buildings constructed in environmentally sensitive areas will have to go through multiple levels of inspections, apart from the one now being carried out by the LSGD engineering wing. The instructions earlier issued by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights will also have to be followed in the case of such buildings.
There were isolated incidents of cracks developing on school buildings in the upland areas of Kozhikode district as a result of frequent quarry blasts. A few managements had taken up the issue with the higher authorities, citing that the denial of fitness certificates in such cases was not justifiable, and that the quarry operators concerned should meet the expenses of maintenance works.
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