There was once a belief that a sprawling campus with lots of lush greenery provided the ideal milieu for academics to thrive. But over the years multi-storeyed posh buildings have begun jousting on the campuses. Why are college and school campuses being transformed into a concrete jungle?

Most school and college managements say that times have changed. It's now all about selling the institutions by meeting the expectations of the parents. "One parent asked me how many computers we have in our college but didn't bother to enquire if we had a good faculty," Fr Daniel Fernandes - Principal - St Joseph's College of Commerce, recalls and adds, "there are parents who come looking for good, posh buildings more than the green space."

Fr Daniel believes that educational institutions must have open spaces and greenery to compensate for the concrete jungle outside the campuses.

"Large spaces in colleges embody the broadmindedness of the institution. A lot of learning and discussion takes place under trees. One always finds students out on basketball courts and in grounds even after the time slot provided to them," he observes.

Besides the institutions' desire to appear flashy, there is also the fact that institutions themselves have become businesses. The trend thus is to build more buildings to accommodate as many students as possible.

More posh buildings provide easy excuse to raise the fees, points out Prof A M Narahari, president Federation of University College Teachers Association in Karnataka. "The aesthetic beauty of the college must be maintained no matter what," he says and adds serene location with large green space adds value to the reputation of the institution. 

While some parents consciously send their children to schools and colleges with large playgrounds, some other choose schools that sport posh buildings. Ranjini Jayaram, mother of two sons, one in class nine and the other in class 12 at National Public School and Sri Aurobindo School respectively, thinks opens spaces in colleges and schools help children destress and encourage them to play.

Suman Rao says she chose to put her son in plus two at Bishop Cotton Boy's School only for the facilities such as a swimming pool.   Dr Niranjanaradhya, senior research officer at Centre for Child and the Law, NLS and working group member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights thinks a student's creativity is not unleashed unless they spend a good amount of time in playgrounds.