Pvt firms to take over sanitation, security at 1,900 govt schools

CHENNAI: The security arrangements and sanitation services at more than 1,900 government schools across the State will be outsourced to private agencies from the coming academic year to improve these facilities.

The School Education Department’s decision to engage professional facility management service providers came against the backdrop of several complaints that most government schools do not maintain their premises hygienically allegedly due to manpower shortage.

Sources said 1,954 government schools with more number of students have been identified for this effort to ensure that the school premises are clean, safe and hygienic.

"It was also reported that the management of some schools were engaging students to clean toilets and other areas,” a senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next.

The agency selected for the work would also provide 24x7 security for these schools by deploying security guards for morning and night duties. These guards would be in charge of opening and locking school gates, classrooms, toilets and staff rooms, and would also maintain the register for vehicles and visitors to prevent theft of materials, consumables, scrap, and equipment, the official said.

"The security personnel will regulate flow of visitors, especially when the inflow is high, and also ensure that children are safe inside the campus. They will also help the students cross the road and report any malfunctioning of facilities and installations within the premises," explained the official.

The housekeeping staff would not only carry out the usual work such as sweeping, removal of garbage, cleaning computers and other equipment, but also ensure that the kitchen, store room, canteen and cafeteria, pump- room, and other minor storage areas were kept neat and clean.

These workers would ensure the availability of water in the toilet and make sure that no sanitary napkins were found strewn in the toilet. If any are found, they would be disposed of in the incinerator in the designated manner specified by the school. "At present, this is a big issue," the official said.

"The sanitation and housekeeping staff will keep the toilets dry, spic and span, with a neutral smell,” he said, and added that any deviation in this regard would be viewed strictly and appropriate action would be taken," he said.

Male workers would be permitted to enter only the boys' toilets, and the staff should ensure that there are no children in the toilet while taking photographs (if directed) to show compliance of the job done. Any violation in this regard would result in criminal action being initiated against the worker and the firm, the department warned.