Students risk lives for education at crumbling GJC Nampally

Students are being forced to attend classes in an over 55-year-old building that has already been identified as a dilapidated structure a year ago. On Sunday, a large portion of the ceiling came down in the corridor on the first floor of the college. As it was a holiday there was no mishap

Hyderabad: Hundreds of students of the Government Junior College (GJC) (Boys) Baazarghat, Nampally, are risking their lives not for academic excellence but to attend classes in the crumbling building. They are forced to attend classes in an over-55-year-old building that has already been identified as a dilapidated structure a year ago.

On Sunday, a large portion of the ceiling came down in the corridor on the first floor of the college. As it was a holiday, there was no mishap. Following the incident, the college declared Monday a holiday as the classrooms, corridors, and infrastructure were soaked in the rainwater.

After every rainfall, water drips from the ceiling in rooms, including the principal’s office, staff room and classrooms as well. In almost all rooms, cracks run through every wall, with visible iron beams and algal growth, reflecting the sorry state of affairs of the building. Students complained that they experienced electric shocks when they came in contact with wet walls.

“So far, we did not get hurt due to ceiling collapse but we are fearing for our safety. Several times we experienced electric shock after rains as water seeped into switchboards,” students said.

There are two college buildings on the premises, with one constructed in 1940 and being used for imparting intermediate vocational education and another established in 1969 for regular intermediate education.

Out of 30 classrooms in this GJC, 20 classrooms are in poor shape and 10 others are not being used due to their dilapidated condition. Currently, around 1,300 students are pursuing academics in both colleges.

The State engineering department had already declared both the buildings as dilapidated structures and recommended that the authorities concerned dismantle them and construct new ones last year.

The Commissionerate of Intermediate Education, which oversees functioning of the GJCs, had requested a sanction of Rs 30 crore for construction. However, it has been pending with the State government, official sources said.

Following Sunday’s incident, the Commissionerate officials reached out to the college, assuring the staff and students of a temporary facility at a different location until new buildings are constructed.