Remove poll-related posters from govt schools, activists urge officials

Coimbatore: Activists on Saturday said the posters with candidate details and election-related information stuck in govt schools that functioned as polling booths in the district were yet to be removed.At least 3,540 polling booths were set up across the district for the assembly election, and most of them were in govt schools. Posters carrying details such as candidates' names, symbols, addresses and their position on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were stuck at the entrance of polling booths, near classroom doors. After polling concluded, EVMs were removed from the polling booths on the night of April 23, enabling schools to resume normal functioning from the next day. However, the posters continue to remain on walls and classroom premises in several schools. Stating that the election-related work had been completed in all schools that served as polling stations, Chandrasekar, district coordinator of School Education Protection Movement, said the removal of posters had not yet begun. "Educationists had earlier demanded authorities that school campuses be handed back in a clean condition after elections. But authorities have shown negligence by failing to remove the posters," he said. Apart from posters, he said, waste, including food packets used by election personnel, is also dumped on the premises of some schools after polling, raising sanitation concerns. "In some schools, headmasters, teachers and local residents have cleaned the premises themselves." Pointing out that many govt schools were upgraded with colourful classrooms, motivational quotes and portraits of leaders with contributions from private organizations, alumni and individuals, T Arulanandam, state committee member of the organization, said, "These improvements are getting damaged due to the posters stuck during the election. In some schools, posters with unnecessary content are pasted near the portraits of leaders." He said suggestions such as using flex boards or non-damaging materials, instead of directly gluing posters onto walls, were ignored by election officials. The organization urged the state election commission and the district administration to ensure that school campuses are cleaned and restored at the earliest. When contacted, Coimbatore chief educational officer R Balamurali said the work to clean the schools could begin only on Saturday, as the election process was completed only on Friday. He said the posters in schools would be removed within two to three days. Responding to the concerns over damage caused by posters, he said authorities would look into alternative options.