Court Questions Slow Repairs of Govt School Buildings, Seeks Action Plan

Udaipur, March 6, 2026 – Rajasthan High Court has expressed displeasure over the slow pace of repairs of dilapidated government school buildings and classrooms and ruled that the excuse of lack of funds will not be accepted in this matter. It also directed the State Chief Secretary to submit an affidavit on the action plan prepared for the work.

During the hearing, the Court described the safety of children as a serious issue and asked why government and private schools with unsafe buildings should not be prevented from operating from July 1?

Additionally, it said that classes for pre-primary children should be conducted only on the ground floor. They should neither be seated in basements nor on upper floors.

The Division Bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain was on Thursday (March 5), hearing petitions, including a suo motu one, registered over the Jhalawar school accident. During the hearing, it emerged that 3,700 schools were supposed to get new buildings. Of these, only 114 received approval, and so far only five buildings have reached the plinth level, while work on the rest remains largely on paper.

The Court observed that the Budget may lapse in March while tenders are still being processed.

When the issue of Budget was raised, the Court said this was the government's problem and Court orders must be complied with. The Central Government said the State government had sought funds for school buildings, but details from its officials had not yet been received.

It also came to light that the government had sought assistance from NRIs (migrant Indians) for school infrastructure. So far, approximately Rs 11 crore has been received as support.

The Court further observed that incidents of school building collapses have been reported continuously since July, involving both government and private schools. It suggested that in such a situation chartered engineers may be appointed so that from July 1 only those schools operate which are certified safe by them.

Source: Media Reports

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