<p>Students of the government higher primary school at Kallukambh in the taluk had a close shave on Saturday as a large chunk of the ceiling of a classroom collapsed just half-an-hour after the students left the school.</p>.<p>Three more classrooms of the eight-decade old school have developed cracks.</p>.<p>“I was going on my bike when I heard a loud thud. I went to the spot and found out that the ceiling of the school has collapsed. A few locals placed thorny bushes around the school to prevent people from going close to the building,” G Nagaraj, an eyewitness and alumnus of the school said.</p>.<p>“Students had left for home when the tragedy struck. I can’t imagine what would have happened if the ceiling had caved in during the schools hours, says B Sunil Kumar, a local resident.</p>.<p>The school, which came up in 1943 after Bhanapur Hanumanth Reddy donated a parcel of land, has a student strength of 203. The building was in a dilapidated condition due to a lack of maintenance.</p>.<p>Also, the pupil-teacher ratio in the school is poor with just five teachers for grades 1 to 7.</p>.<p>“Days before the deputy commissioner’s overnight stay in the village in April third week, the ceiling of the school was repaired (patch-up job) at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh. DC Pavan Kumar Malapati had ordered to transfer ownership of school land in the government’s name and had promised a new building for the school. Four months on, his promise remained just that even as the building crumbled,” B Siddaiah and Santhosh Reddy, the old students of the school, rued.</p>.<p>Six months back, H Basavaraj, the in-charge headmaster of the school had written to BEO about the sorry condition of school building and submitted an action plan for construction of eight new classrooms.</p>.<p>When contacted, Ballari DDPI Andanappa Vadageri said the department will bring down the old building and necessary approvals will be given for the construction of three classrooms.</p>
<p>Students of the government higher primary school at Kallukambh in the taluk had a close shave on Saturday as a large chunk of the ceiling of a classroom collapsed just half-an-hour after the students left the school.</p>.<p>Three more classrooms of the eight-decade old school have developed cracks.</p>.<p>“I was going on my bike when I heard a loud thud. I went to the spot and found out that the ceiling of the school has collapsed. A few locals placed thorny bushes around the school to prevent people from going close to the building,” G Nagaraj, an eyewitness and alumnus of the school said.</p>.<p>“Students had left for home when the tragedy struck. I can’t imagine what would have happened if the ceiling had caved in during the schools hours, says B Sunil Kumar, a local resident.</p>.<p>The school, which came up in 1943 after Bhanapur Hanumanth Reddy donated a parcel of land, has a student strength of 203. The building was in a dilapidated condition due to a lack of maintenance.</p>.<p>Also, the pupil-teacher ratio in the school is poor with just five teachers for grades 1 to 7.</p>.<p>“Days before the deputy commissioner’s overnight stay in the village in April third week, the ceiling of the school was repaired (patch-up job) at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh. DC Pavan Kumar Malapati had ordered to transfer ownership of school land in the government’s name and had promised a new building for the school. Four months on, his promise remained just that even as the building crumbled,” B Siddaiah and Santhosh Reddy, the old students of the school, rued.</p>.<p>Six months back, H Basavaraj, the in-charge headmaster of the school had written to BEO about the sorry condition of school building and submitted an action plan for construction of eight new classrooms.</p>.<p>When contacted, Ballari DDPI Andanappa Vadageri said the department will bring down the old building and necessary approvals will be given for the construction of three classrooms.</p>
