Students of a government high school attend classes under the shade of trees in Vellore after school buildings were demolished

Students attend open air classes at Government Panchayat Union Middle School in Kottaiyur. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Students of the Government Panchayat Union Middle School in Kottaiyur, , attended classes under the shade of trees after two buildings containing four classrooms were demolished in mid-2024 due to their fragile condition. Kottaiyur is a small farming village at the foothills of Jawadhu Hills in Vellore.

Residents said since the demolition of the buildings, most of the 134 students, including 67 girls, have been attending their daily classes under the campus trees. “Despite good teaching, we are worried about the safety of children who have to attend classes in the open air. As the northeast monsoon is about to start, alternative measures should be taken to ensure that students attend classes in a safe place,” said R. Bakiyam, a resident.

Built in 1954 and managed by the Department of School Education, the school spread over 8,000 square feet and consisted of three school buildings with spacious classrooms.

School officials said two dilapidated buildings were demolished after the plaster on the ceiling roof peeled off in one of the classrooms. Buildings were demolished with the promise of building new ones.

“The school campus has several separate washrooms for girls but none for boys as the existing damaged facility has not been rebuilt despite reminders to the authorities. The District Collector should step in to provide safe and permanent buildings for the students,” Principal G. Sridhar told The Hindu.

Since the school’s existing enclosure wall was damaged during the demolition of the dilapidated school buildings, students had to brave mosquitoes and insects during classes, especially in the rains. Many students, especially in the lower classes, fell ill, teachers said.

Repeated petitions have been forwarded to the district administration and the education department to take steps to construct new school buildings. Frequent checks by field education officers have yielded no solution, residents said.

Education officials said these school buildings were among the 812 buildings that were earmarked for demolition in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur.

The trip was undertaken following the death of three students due to the collapse of a toilet wall 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 – 12 Sep 2026 05:30 IST