28 July,2016 08:00 AM IST | | Aparna Shukla
Marathi municipal school in Erangal village in Marve is barely functioning. Villagers complain that in the absence of basic amenities, parents are keeping children away from it
The Erangal Marathi Municipal School has been waiting for over a decade to turn the page to a sunnier chapter. But the sun never smiles on it. Barely standing at Malad's Marve beach, the village school serves a frightening warning: that regardless of who wins the tug-of-war between civic officials and villagers, it's the students who'll lose the battle.
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Erangal Marathi Municipal School at Marve beach hasn't seen any repairs in a decade. Pic/Nimesh Dave
The school, set up around 1955, has no fans or lights in classrooms. There is no headmaster and just six teachers to handle 286 students from Std I to X. Many classes are run without teachers. a visit to the toilet can be quite an ordeal - it has no roof and the windows are kept uncovered. The monsoon only makes matters worse. With the school in such dire straits, many parents are reluctant to admit their wards here.
10 years and counting...
Villagers say the school hasn't seen repairs in 10 years and lay the blame for it at the BMC's door.
"BMC officials say, since the land belongs to the Erangal community comprising Marathi farmers, they will not undertake any repair unless the land is given to them. But the villagers have let them have authority over the school for years. If they could set up the school, why not shoulder the responsibility of repairs as well? With a few repairs, the parents who are not keen on sending their children to the school can be won over," suggests Nitesh Mhatre, who has been living in Erangal for the past 40 years.
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The school caters to the needs of three villages - Erangal, Bhati and Madh. Madh has a municipal school, 3 km from the Erangal school, but it offers classes only till Std VI.
"There are about 1,000 families in each village. So, the demand for a good school is quite high. But the Erangal school falls short of all expectations," says Vikram Kapur, another resident.
Locals say the Madh school offers better facilities. So, admissions get over quickly. Besides, for secondary school education, students have no option but to depend on the Erangal school. "Since it offers classes from Std VII-X, it should ideally have more students than the 224 on the rolls at present," says Kapur.
Raining woes
A girl student from the school says it's "impossible" to go to the toilet during the rainy season. "Besides, there is no roof and the toilet's windows are not covered. We feel very unsafe there."
Malad MLA Aslam Sheikh, along with BMC assistant commissioner Sangeeta Hasnale, had visited the school in January and had assured the villagers that a solution would be found soon. That promise, like many others over the years, has been blowing in the wind.
Sangeeta Hasnale was not available despite repeated attempts. The gram panchayat head said the school would go undergo repairs in a month.
