After initial opposition, talks held with municipal officials yield fruit; one out of the three buildings on the premises will be put to use
BMC officials visited the school premises for a survey on Wednesda
Yet another city school denied converting its entire campus into a quarantine facility fearing infection to their staff residing in the same complex. Hansraj Morarji School, Andheri which is a residential school had written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding the same after BMC approached them with plans to create a quarantine facility inside the campus.
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Initially, when the BMC approached them, a formal protest was held on the campus where resident staff raised the objection. The teachers in the premises expressed their willingness to perform any other COVID-19 duty but considering the huge population of senior citizens inside the premises they were opposing the plan.
Hansraj Morarji school
However, discussions were held between residential staff and civic body and it was decided that one of the three educational buildings in the complex – the farthest from the staff quarters would be made into a quarantine centre.
"The school premise has three buildings affiliated to different boards and kindergarten. Moreover, staff quarters have a population of around 700 residents inside the complex. We also have many senior citizens. In such a case, having a quarantine facility inside the school is a cause of worry. But we reached an agreement that one of the three buildings would be converted into quarantine facility," Madhukar Khot, head of the security operations of the campus and former defence personnel said.
"This building is state board (SSC) affiliated school with a total of 37 classrooms and few big halls. Each classroom can have six beds while the halls can house 50," Khot added.
Since the other two school buildings are CBSE and ICSE, they have pending exams in July, which was also a major reason for opposition. The school administration has already quarantined five families in one of the buildings as a precautionary measure after a neighbour tested positive.
Uday Nare, one of the teachers said, "We as teachers are more than willing to participate for COVID-19 duties. But the school premises - especially because it is a residential complex there are apprehensions among staff residents."
On May 21, mid-day had reported about how locals and parents from Podar International School, Santacruz opposed converting the school into quarantine facility.
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