Teachers voice concern over defaced schools as polling nears

Teachers express concerns about defaced schools and damaged facilities as polling approaches for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election.

Teachers are worried about the possible damage to schools that will host polling booths for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. Candidates’ posters stuck on walls, garbage strewn around, and blackboards damaged are some of the issues teachers have to deal with after the election.

It was in 1951 as India got ready to hold its first general elections with Assembly elections in the State that schools were chosen as easy infrastructure for polling booths.

An article in The Hindu in 1951 noted that the election commissioner resorted to schools as polling booths. Today, the school walls where the photos of candidates and their symbols are pasted get defaced. “We make so much efforts to keep schools a place for learning with fun, with walls painted with animal caricatures and slogans. But every two or three years, an election comes, and our efforts are wasted,” said M. Krishnaveni, principal, Corporation Primary School at Mogappair.

A school in Chennai drew pictures of animals on its walls. “The children were happy to be outside and spend time learning. But the 2019 election came and the walls were stuck with posters. When we peeled off the posters, the paint too came along,” said the principal. Teachers point out that the rooms allotted as booths are cleaned and readied for use by the members of the public. But when they return for the next academic year, the schools are left unclean, with garbage strewn around.

“We have to clean it up. We would close for the academic year and hand over the building to election officials. But when we come back, our schools are not in the same condition. We have to clean them,” said Ms. Krishnaveni.

Sheela M., a parent from Manali, points out that this sets a bad example for children. “They will think that it is all right to stick things on school walls or blackboards. Instead of caring for their surroundings, they will understand that damage will be tolerated.” In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, a school at Mogappair was defaced. A video of a primary school child talking about the poor condition of her school went viral. The video showed the garbage strewn around, shelves broken, and posters left in the classroom.