On Wednesday, Purva Garg, the Education Secretary of Chandigarh, instructed officials from all UT government schools to promptly submit their repair requests through the online portal of the engineering department. The directive aims to facilitate timely actions in addressing the repair needs. Garg chaired a meeting at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, attended by HS Brar, Director School Education, Harjinder Kaur from Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and officers from related departments. The focus of the discussion was on ongoing efforts to enhance school infrastructure.
During the meeting, officials addressed the internal building and safety audit of all schools. The ongoing audit, scheduled for completion within a week, will be reviewed by the engineering department, which will then undertake repairs within the specified timeframe. Additionally, the town planning department will submit a report on land availability in Chandigarh for establishing new schools based on the needs identified by the Department of School Education in seven designated areas.
In July of this year, the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR) had urged the immediate relocation of students from a government school due to the dilapidated condition of its building, posing a potential hazard. The commission, acting suo-motu upon receiving information about the damaged structure of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Khuda Alisher-Chandigarh, issued recommendations for the safety of students. These recommendations were sent to the Secretary of the Chandigarh education department and the Chandigarh administration, urging immediate measures to prevent unfortunate incidents.