HC Directs TS to Furnish Info About Infra Facilities in Govt Educational Institutions

Hyderabad: A division bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti directed the government to file a compliance report within four weeks on the steps taken by it to ensure basic facilities and safety measures in all government educational institutions including schools, colleges and hostels.

Apart from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines and school safety policy 2016, the Supreme Court mandated infrastructure like fire extinguishers, structural safety, electricity and soundness certificates of the buildings in which schools and junior colleges are housed.

One Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Teja, working in BA Continuum India Pvt Ltd at Raheja MindSpace. filed a PIL before the High Court against the failure of the state government in providing minimum security facilities in government educational institutions.

He said that government schools in Jawaharnagar, Ramnagar, Yousufguda, Masab Tank, Raj Bhavan, Somajiguda, Nampally, Ameerpet, Prabhathnagar, Borabanda and Vijayanagar Colony and a junior college did not have a single fire extinguisher.

Schools in Nalgonda and Rangareddy district do not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department.

Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the petitioner, informed that the state government is obligated to provide medicines, first-aid kits, provision of water tank, conducting fire-fighting training programmes for all teachers and students from X to XII standards, deputing a fire task force in every school.

However, the government counsel submitted that the government has provided facilities in a majority of the schools.

The bench issued notices to the Chief Secretary, principal secretaries and heads of all related departments, directing them to respond to the notices.