No compound walls for 13,000 schools in Telangana

​Hyderabad: As many as 12,783 schools in the State do not have compound walls, according to a report by the District Information System for Education (DISE).

The safety and security of nearly nine lakh students in State continues to be ignored. These schools continue to function without compound walls though the government has allocated money for providing safety to the schoolchildren.

Officials of the Education Department have thrown up their hands in helplessness in taking measures for safety of the children as mandated under Section 19 of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

Well-known political scientist G Haragopal said, “Kejriwal's government allocated 23 per cent in budget for education whereas our government is lagging behind with nine per cent allocation.”

Chairman of All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State P L Vishweshwar Rao said, “More than 30 per cent of schools have not taken safety measures. As a result, several students continue to suffer. According to Child Protection Act, safety in schools should be prioritised.”

While narrating his experience about the recent visit to a school in Nalgonda district, he said, “It is disgusting to see pigs roaming on the school premises.”

If there is no good allocation in the Budget for education, how is it possible to attain the goal of ‘Bangaru Telangana, wondered the AISEC members.

Hyderabad District Education Officer Somi Reddy said the officials had been keeping a watch on schools to ensure that anti-social elements do not harass students.

Teachers Union President Ravinder stressed on the need for the government to take measures to ensure that every school has a compound wall.