Minister for speedy restoration of damaged Mandi schools, colleges

Education Minister Rohit Thakur today expressed serious concern over the massive damage caused to educational institutions by cloudbursts and flashfloods and directed the officials concerned to take immediate measures to restore and repair the affected schools and colleges so that the studies of students continue without interruption.

The minister said that he would visit the disaster-affected areas in Mandi soon. He chaired a meeting to review the status of schools and colleges damaged due to the rain disaster in Mandi district.

Rohit said that 219 schools in Mandi district that had suffered damage due to flashfloods had been made functional. “Efforts are being made to shift a few schools, the buildings of which have developed huge cracks, to the nearest vacant government buildings, Mahila Mandals and community halls,” he added.

He instructed the officials concerned to ensure the repair and restoration work was carried out on a war footing so that students’ education was not hampered. The minister also directed the officials to explore more suitable vacant accommodation to ensure that students get an easy access to temporary schools without having to travel long distances. He stressed the physical monitoring of restoration work by the departments concerned.

Rohit urged the Central Government to immediately release the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) funds so that the damaged educational institutions in the flashflood-ravaged areas could be reconstructed. He asked the officials concerned to give top priority to those schools that had sustained over 75 per cent damage.

He said that many schools and colleges were severely damaged due to a faulty site selection, as some institutions had been constructed close to rivers and khuds. He stressed that henceforth responsibility should be fixed on Deputy Directors for the site selection and the schools must be constructed at a safe place, away from rivers and rivulets to ensure the safety of the students and the staff.

The Education Minister also reviewed the progress of various educational schemes, including the Rajiv Gandhi Model Day Boarding Schools, Atal Adarsh Vidyalayas, and discussed the pending recruitment of teachers. He directed the officials concerned to expedite the recruitment process to fill vacancies at the earliest.

Rohit said that notices had been issued to 320 non-performing teachers and lecturers and strict action would be taken against them.

Himachal Tribune