No schools to run in 21 Kendriya Vidyalaya buildings, orders HRD ministry after audit reveals safety risks

New Delhi: More than 20 Kendriya Vidyalaya buildings across the country have been found partially or fully unsafe in an audit, prompting the HRD Ministry to issue directives that schools should not be run in them.

The maximum of these decades-old buildings are in Maharashtra (8), followed by Assam (3), according to Human Resource Development Ministry officials. Of the eight in Maharashtra, three were constructed in the 1960s. Two buildings each are in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and one each in Tripura, Meghalaya, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim.

The three buildings found fully unsafe are in Gujarat and Maharashtra. “The work of replacement of unsafe school buildings have been sanctioned in four KVs, including one in Gujarat and three in Maharashtra,” the official said.

With respect to the remaining 17 KVs, the repair or replacement work can be taken up on receipt of estimates from construction agencies and availability of funds. “However, instructions have been issued to not run school in the unsafe buildings,” the official added.

The Vidyalaya Sangathan runs over 260 KVs in the country in temporary premises provided by sponsors, with a majority of the schools in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, followed by Bihar. Altogether, the Sangathan runs 1,206 KVs in India under the aegis of the HRD Ministry; three such schools operate abroad.