Structural audit of 302 govt schools in a month: CM

Porvorim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that while state govt has conducted a structural audit of 568 govt schools, it will complete audits of 302 govt schools within a month to implement the National Education Policy (NEP).

He also said that by the end of May, repairs of all govt schools will be completed.Opposition leader Yuri Alemao said the policy was premature and was on the wrong academic footing. “When there are already 1,100 instructional hours in the old system, 955 instructional hours are now required, plus 245 hours for other learning. Why are children forced to go to school in April? School can begin in June,” he said. In response, Sawant said that when the NEP was introduced in the state, all stakeholders — including the PTAs and school managements — were taken into confidence, following which govt decided to start the academic year in April.

He added that the new school schedule would help children complete the portion of each subject.The chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, said that according to a preliminary report, all govt school structures were safe and that a structural audit would be completed within a month. But St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar said that, according to a reply, a lot of primary schools were damaged, partially damaged, or needed attention.

Borkar said that sometimes, schools needed to be repaired through the PTA even as he suggested that state appoint a nodal agency to repair govt schools on priority, as the PWD building department was busy with several other works.Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said that, according to the audit report, firefighting systems were not available in most govt schools, and asked whether govt will put such systems in place. Sawant replied that govt takes precautions to avoid fire incidents near schools, and that it would not be correct on his part to give an assurance that govt would install firefighting systems.