Focus on students’ health as inspection teams visit

Technical teams, each comprising representatives of state health department and electrical and civic authorities have been inspecting government and private schools to ascertain the condition of the structure, surroundings and also the furniture.

As the flooding and soggy conditions would have made the classroom walls and the wooden furniture susceptible to mould and other types of fungus growth, the emphasis was on disinfecting the benches or chairs used by the students.

“We insist that the school management thoroughly disinfect the wooden furniture and ensure the classrooms are well ventilated. Also, we make sure that there is no faulty electrical connection or that water stagnates on the premises of educational institutions,” a senior health official who inspected the schools in R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency said.

The weekend turned into working days for the officials who hopped from one school to the other. “The school management should clean the toilets and make sure that there is no opportunistic infection – water or air borne. Hygiene is most important in life after inundation,” claims Dr K. Bharaneedharan, consultant, internal medicine and diabetologist, Global Hospital.

The disinfectant solution, available in all pharmacies, could be used, he says. School managements should also ensure that mosquitoes don’t breed on campus besides provide clean drinking water to the students, Dr Bharaneedharan said and advocated the use of mosquito repellent as a precaution.