City govt school in soup for playground ‘misuse’

CHENNAI: When most Chennai government schools do not have enough playground space and children are cramped within school walls during recess, a government higher secondary school in Nanganallur had been renting out their large playground for commercial and political activities for almost a decade.

The Nehru Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School in Nanganallur is one of the very few government schools to have a large playground space. But, the school heads during their respective tenures thought it was ideal to outsource the playground in exchange for some cash.

According to sources, the school on June 4 allowed a sporting event titled ‘second year Modi trophy’ held by cadres of BJP Chennai east district, Nanganallur zone. During this event, a large banner was planted at the entrance of the school and the centre of the playground.

Similarly, the same school had permitted the AIADMK to hold an event during the birth anniversary of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa on February 24. But, higher officials of the Education Department clarified that the playground of government schools cannot be used for commercial, political and religious purposes.

A teacher of the school on the condition of anonymity said, “The particular school has been allowing a slew of events ranging from commercial to political for almost a decade. The engagement was started by a headmaster about ten years ago and the rest followed suit during their respective tenures.”

And, it has been noted that at least one such event is held at the school every month. The teacher further went on to point out that the payment after the event is credited to the bank account of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).

“The cash received through these events are used to pay salaries of night watchman and sanitary workers at the school. And the cash is only withdrawn with the permission of the school headmaster and School Management Committee (SMC) head. And, so far there has been no misuse,” the teacher added.

Incidentally, Education Department sources told DT Next that several schools allow political parties and organisations to conduct events without prior permission and approval from the department.

A higher official said, “Nanganallur school neither did get permission nor did it inform on allowing events at the school. However, we will soon hold inquiries and issue a circular if need be.”

Meanwhile, education activist PB Prince Gajendra Babu noted that government schools function with Tamil Nadu Public Buildings (Licencing) Act, hence engaging in events only as per the Act.

“It is no secret that various political parties and organisations have targeted schools to propagate their political ideologies and train their cadres, which need serious intervention from the government,” Prince added.