Amid Swine Flu scare, schools found unhygienic
Toilets dirty, walls full of fungus; Municipal Magistrate, Health Officer start inspection of educational institutions
Unclean toilets and classroom walls full of fungus. This was the scene at some schools in the City Tuesday when Municipal Magistrate Khurshid-Ul- Islam flanked by Health Officer Dr Rubeena Shaheen Tuesday started inspection of educational intuitions.
Prompted by public complaints that Srinagar schools including some leading private institutions were operating in allegedly unhygienic conditions post floods, the officials started the inspections.
“Washrooms were worse while children were being taught in flood-affected classrooms where walls were full of fungus,” an official spokesman said.
Health Officer DrRubeena while confirming the unhygienic conditions admitted that in the past few days she received many complaints from parents that their kids were being taught in filthy conditions at schools.
Post floods, dampness which causes fungal growth has been a recurring problem while health experts have often cautioned of serious health problems in children if subjected to study in such conditions. Government has allegedly failed to undertake inspection of the schools before their reopening after the winter break.
The only apparent concern shown by the authorities was that Directorate of Health Kashmir shot an advisory, which asked the children to use “sanitizers and tissues if soap and water was not available in the schools.”
Meanwhile the parents continued to be worried over the allegedly unhygienic conditions of educational institutions including some leading English medium schools.
“While the toilets are unhygienic, there is no surety about quality of water available to children for drinking,” said a worried parent adding “though grown up children manage in such conditions, younger ones can fall prey.”
The parents feared there was every possibility that inspection of schools would be left halfway. “Many of the erring schools have always been influential and they to sabotage such people friendly initiatives,” the parents said.
The Health Officer however assured that the drive would continue.
