Tension at DPI complex as Corpn sanitises offices

Chennai

Tension escalated when the health officials also asked the staff to leave the office till sanitising work was completed. The work was carried out following information that an official in the DGE office was suspected to have the viral infection since Thursday.

“It was just a suspected case, there is no confirmation. However, Corporation officials did not want to take any chance, and carried out sanitisation as is the routine,” a senior official from the Directorate of School Education told DT Next.

The School Education Department has sought a detailed report on the issue, the official said, adding that all the staff entering DPI complex was closely monitored so that the routine work, especially related to conducting board exams for SSLC students, was not interrupted.

However, a DPI official said on condition of anonymity: “Confusion prevailed here as there was information that one of the staff in our department, who was absent today, had given samples for testing.”

The situation turned tense when few staff who entered through DGE office gate were asked to use the other entrance, he added. The official said some of the staff in DGE even shifted their office belongings to another place. “However, the issue was sorted out after higher officials intervened,” he said.

The DPI complex also houses other offices, including Directorate of School Education, Directorate of Elementary Education and Directorate of Matriculation.