Mana Ooru Works Still Falling Behind as Schools Get Ready to Reopen

While government schools are preparing to take back students, the education department is running against time—but many of the key upgrades under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme are not yet completed.

Of 1,156 government primary schools and government high schools in the area, 45 only have had the works completed as planned. While 407 of the schools were chosen for upgrade under 11 components—with infrastructure, sanitation, and digital learning equipment—the work remains pending or incomplete for 316 schools.

Worse still, 40 schools need over ₹60 lakh each to complete upgradation, but the money hasn't materialized. In spite of contractors raising the matter time and again, not much has shifted at the higher administrative level. Till now, the work completed has cost around ₹9 crore, but work has come to a halt, with concerns regarding students' readiness and safety.

Interestingly, ex Nizamabad urban MLA Bigala Gupta made a precedent by taking over and entirely up-gradation of two schools in Makloor mandal. Such instances are exceptional, and majority of schools wait for action to be taken.

In parallel, 760 schools were selected for minimal facility improvements—drinking water, electricity, and toilets—under the Amma Adarsha Patashala (AAP) programme rolled out last year by the Congress administration. Approximately 80% of AAP has been covered, with ₹21.97 crore having been expended out of the estimated ₹42.15 crore.

With schools reopening, incomplete classrooms, dysfunctional toilets, and missing luxuries may interrupt learning. The holdup on Mana Ooru projects is a sign of a larger problem of infrastructure under-prioritization, particularly in rural education.

If no sharp attention is provided, the very initiatives intended to improve school atmospheres may fail the students they were intended to support.