A government primary school is functioning in Vellore city

About 30 students attended day classes on the first floor of a small private house located across from the demolished school grounds. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Students of the Government Panchayat Union Primary School in Marattipalayam, a small farming village at the foothills of the Jawadhu Hills in Vellore, attend classes in a private godown after all three dilapidated school buildings were demolished in November 2025.

Residents said since then about 30 students, including 10 girls, have been attending day classes on the floor of a small private godown located opposite the demolished school premises. “Despite the good teaching, we are worried about the safety of the children because the temporary accommodation does not have enough space for the students. The dense vegetation around the building also poses a risk to the students,” said resident R. Valli.

The decades-old school, which is spread over a hectare of land, consisted of three school buildings with spacious classrooms. The classrooms had wooden benches, ventilation and lighting. The campus also had separate washrooms for boys and girls, a mid-day meal centre, water taps, an Over Head Tank (OHT), a playground and a compound wall.

School authorities said the dilapidated buildings were demolished after the roof plaster was peeled off in one of the classrooms in November last year. As a result, all three buildings were demolished with the promise of new school buildings.

The godown does not have separate toilets and water taps. “We will take the students to the school campus, which is opposite the godown, where washrooms and taps are available. The District Collector should intervene to provide safe and permanent buildings for the students,” Principal S. Premalatha told The Hindu.

Since the private godown is surrounded by thick bushes, students have to brave mosquitoes and insects during classes, especially during the rains. Many students get sick, teachers said.

Repeated petitions to the district administration to take steps to build school buildings. Residents said frequent ground-level inspections by school officials also yielded no results for a permanent building.

A total of 812 dilapidated school buildings have been identified in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur for demolition. The trip was undertaken in the wake of the death of three students after a toilet wall collapsed at a government-aided school in Tirunelveli on December 17, 2021. “Steps will be taken to construct new classrooms for the government school. The district collector will be informed about the plight of the students in the school,” said a school education department official.

Published – 27 Jun 2026 05:30 IST