Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court Monday sharply criticised the state govt for failing to repair dilapidated school buildings, saying the court had been “misled for the last 6 to 7 months.” The education secretary and the director of secondary and primary education were present before the court. In an affidavit, the state govt said nearly Rs 21,000 crore was required for repair and upgrade of school buildings across Rajasthan. It stated that 3,768 govt school buildings were completely dilapidated and needed reconstruction, 85,000 classrooms were unusable, 2.19 lakh rooms required repairs, and around 47,000 toilets were damaged or needed renovation. The govt told the court it had sought Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre, while the state had allocated Rs 175 crore, of which half remains unutilised. The education secretary said that before the Right to Education Act came into force in 2009, schools used fee collections from students for maintenance. A division bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain was hearing a batch of public interest litigations on condition of govt schools, including a petition filed after the Jhalawar school tragedy in which seven students died. During the hearing, when the govt admitted that in some schools classes were held under trees due to unsafe buildings, the bench remarked, “Yahan ped bhi gavahi dene aatey hain (Even trees come forward to testify here),” and said politicians remain focused on transfers and postings rather than children’s safety. The bench also remarked that meetings are held in five-star hotels but educationists are rarely present. It noted that painting a courtroom costs about Rs 8 lakh, underscoring the inadequacy of funds for school safety. Advocate general Rajendra Prasad told the court he would meet the chief secretary and finance secretary to assess requirements, brief the chief minister, and suggest measures for public participation. The court adjourned the matter to Feb 16 after the state sought time.
