10-year wait for ZPHS in Andole-Jogipet comes to an end

Andole-Jogipet: Finally, the decade-long wait for the construction of Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) for Boys in Jogipet came to an end, as the Lokayukta responded to an news item published in The Hans India and took up the issue suo-moto forcing the District Administration and political establishment to expedite works and complete it within eight months.

The construction of the school started in 2007 during the Congress regime but was later abandoned. Slabs for three floors were laid by the Congress government but the contractor left the work incomplete. The abandoned school structure soon became a hang-out spot for drunkards and sex workers.

Children had to suffer by attending other schools’ due accommodation difficulties in alternative locations where space was already limited. The then Minister Damodara Raja Narasimha wanted to make ZPHS Jogipet as a model for all ZPHS schools in United Medak.

Tenders were called after the intervention of Lokayukta and the District Administration was given time until October 2017 to complete the work. The work is now almost complete and a beautiful structure is ready to welcome children of ZPHS Andole-Jogipet after Dasara festival, according to Bikshapathi, Principal of the school.

32 classrooms with a laboratory in each floor of the G+2 building look well ventilated and spacious. Ramps are built to make the premises disabled-friendly. Currently, the strength of the school is about 550, but the new building can accommodate over a thousand children. This raises hope of reversing the trend of government school children joining private schools. Though the classrooms are ready, tap connections in toilets are yet to be given.

Overall, it is something to rejoice for the boys of ZPHS Andole-Jogipet. The new school building was inaugurated by Andole MLA Babu Mohan on Monday.