Panaji: A total of 85 students of a govt high school in Merces were made to sit on the floor for an hour after no desks or benches were provided in any of the classrooms. The incident took place at the temporarily-shifted premises at Hedgewar high school, Cujira. Students, including those from Class X, were dispersed before the scheduled school hours due to the inadequate facilities. The school has 85 students from Classes V to X.The students have been moved to temporary premises as a new school building is supposed to be constructed by the directorate of education. The Goa state commission for protection of child rights (GSCPCR) conducted an inspection to ascertain whether the status of the school infrastructure and the reconstruction work was in accordance with the compliance report furnished to the commission.The DoE informed the commission that reconstruction of the school building had commenced in Aug 2025. However, during the inspection, it was observed that the school premises remained in the same condition as noted during the commission’s earlier inspection. No demolition, reconstruction, or development work had commenced at the site.GSCPCR inspected the classrooms occupied by the students of Govt High School, Merces, at the temporary premises and observed the there were no desks or benches provided in any of the classrooms, students and teachers were attending classes while sitting on mats placed on the floor, and some classrooms were functioning without blackboards, adversely affecting classroom teaching.“Teachers informed the commission that students are being dispersed by approximately 11.30am, as prolonged sitting on the floor is causing discomfort and physical strain. It was also learnt that even the students of Class X are being relieved early due to the inadequate classroom facilities. Teachers were found sitting in the corridors, as no chairs, tables or proper staff room facilities were available,” the GSCPCR inspection report said.“These conditions are not conducive to a safe, healthy, and effective learning environment and adversely affect the quality of education being imparted to the students under the RTE Act,” the GSCRP report said.GSCRP said that the demolition of the unsafe school building and construction of the new Government High School, Merces, should be initiated without any further delay and completed on priority.“Until the new school building is completed, adequate infrastructure including desks, benches, blackboards, teaching aids, staff room furniture and other essential facilities shall be provided at the temporary premises,” GSCRP said. “The directorate shall ensure that students receive their full instructional hours and that no classes are curtailed due to lack of infrastructure.”GSCRP said that considering the affected students belong largely to economically weaker sections, every effort shall be made to minimise disruption to their education and ensure that they continue to receive quality education in a child-friendly environment.
