Chennai: The public works department (PWD) has decided to categorise school buildings based on their stability and mark them with stickers, minister Aadhav Arjuna told the assembly on Monday.Buildings that are unstable and require intervention will be categorised as ‘red’ — meaning the school administration must not use them. “Similarly, a yellow sticker will be given for schools that have medium-level stability and green stickers for stable buildings. The PWD is creating a centralised dashboard for this purpose,” Aadhav said.He said the PWD, along with the school education department, was surveying the buildings in govt schools. “We will get the report in two months. Several govt schools for girls do not have adequate toilets, and maintenance has not been up to standard,” he added.A total of 6,279 high and higher secondary schools, 177 arts colleges, 11 engineering colleges, 55 polytechnic and 98 ITI buildings need upgrades, the minister said.Elaborating further, school education minister A Rajmohan said that in this academic year, 1,031 classrooms, 228 labs and science equipment, 216 toilets, among others, were being upgraded and 24,578 CCTV cameras would be installed in govt schools at a cost of ₹727.58 crore.
