Attakkulangara school's old buildings to be renovated

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is taking steps to renovate the 126-year-old building of  government central high school, Attakkulangara, along with other buildings in the ‘TRIDA land.’ The previous UDF government had issued an order  transferring part of the school land to TRIDA (Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority) to build a bus bay and the High Court had okayed it.  The verdict was stayed by the court as another case was filed by the school’s PTA president.

At a reunion of former students and teachers on Saturday, School Samrakshana Samithi member G. Gomathy  said that a group of architects entrusted by the education minister had come to the school to make an estimate for renovation. However, there was no official communication to this effect.  Headmistress Yamuna Devi said that a group had visited the school to take estimates, but the architects were from a private firm in the city.

About the previous government’s order, she said that there were talks about it getting cancelled at the earliest. At the teachers’ day programme recently, the government  had announced that it would set aside Rs 1 crore for the school’s extracurricular activities. A couple of years ago, the school had less than 50 students. Over the past two years,  it  has been scripting its growth story.  Its progress  was likened to that of a phoenix bird by an alumni on Saturday. The School Samrakshana Samithi along with the NGO  ‘Tree Walk’ and other well-wishers had managed to lead a movement against the UDF government’s decision to hand over the school land to TRIDA.