Jaipur, Sep 2 (IANS) Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa on Wednesday said the state government was the first to launch a campaign aimed at transforming and improving government schools across the state, asserting that all schools found to be in a dilapidated condition would be strengthened and restored.
Bairwa said that while a bulldozer was used at the particular school that had come under scrutiny, it was not an isolated action. He said the government had identified schools with damaged or unsafe buildings across the state and the Chief Minister had sanctioned the required funds to address their poor condition.
Speaking to IANS, Bairwa said the government had already been working to identify schools facing infrastructure-related problems and had been making alternative arrangements wherever necessary.
“The work was already being done everywhere earlier as well by identifying all the schools facing issues and running them through alternative arrangements. We were already carrying out work on that wherever such conditions exist,” he said.
He said many of the structures were old and had been constructed several years ago, making it incorrect to suggest that the problem emerged only after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.
“These are old structures built a long time ago… so it is not as if this happened only after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power. Nevertheless, we have identified all of them, allocated a budget, our Chief Minister has reviewed every location, and now, without a doubt, all schools in a dilapidated state will be strengthened and restored,” Bairwa added.
His remarks came amid heightened scrutiny of school infrastructure in Rajasthan after a team of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was attacked while travelling to inspect a government school in Bagru near Jaipur to examine allegations that the concerned government school was operating from a cowshed.
The school’s original building had reportedly been declared unsafe last year and subsequently closed. Following its closure, students were moved to a temporary enclosure to continue their education.
Amid this, last month, the Rajasthan government informed the state Assembly that 611 government schools were functioning without their own buildings.
The disclosure brought renewed attention to the condition of school infrastructure, with the opposition raising concerns over unsafe campuses and the government announcing funds for repair, renovation and construction.
The BJP government has attributed the existing infrastructure gaps to the previous Congress-led government headed by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
To address these shortcomings, the Rajasthan government has allocated Rs 550 crore for the repair and renovation of existing school buildings. It has also earmarked Rs 450 crore for constructing buildings for schools that currently do not have their own structures or are functioning from dilapidated premises.
The state government has further said that Rs 2,500 crore would be made available every year for the construction, repair and maintenance of school buildings through various funding sources. This amounts to Rs 12,500 crore over a period of five years, with the stated objective of improving school infrastructure across Rajasthan.
–IANS
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