1 (1) Site Area:- Every school should normally have a minimum site area as specified in the following schedule.
SCHEDULE
Lower Primary Schools or Upper Primary Schools with or without Lower Primary Section. : 0.4 to 0.8 Hectares.
Secondary Schools with or Without Primary Section. : 1.2 to 2 Hectares.
Higher Secondary Schools with or without Primary Section : 1.2. to 2 Hectares.
Training School with or without Primary Schools : 1.2. Hectares.
(2) The Educational Officers may examine the need for additional site in each case and order the provision of the same with the sanction of the Director.
(3) Every school shall have a plan showing the extent of site, buildings, play ground, garden etc., approved by the Educational Officer concerned.
2 Selection of site
(1) Sites of school buildings should be on elevated level and they should be well drained and in clean and healthy surroundings. Land under wet cultivation or with made soil or soil retensive of moisture should be avoided. The sites should be accessible to all communities. A proper approach road should be provided where the school is near a main road. A board giving the full name and designation of the school and the name of the local self-government institution
concerned should also be put up in front of the school. (2) Schools in urban areas should as far as possible be so located that they are free from the noise and congestion of the city or the town. The neighbourhood dusty and noisy roads and of shops and factories should as far as possible be avoided. The vicinity of tanks and cannals is a disadvantage to schools.
3 Playground and Garden:-
(1) The sites shall be provided with compound walls or good fencing.
(2) Every school shall have suitable playgrounds for games and sports. The site should contain sufficient clear space for the purpose.
(3) Any new building constructed shall not reduce the space of the playground. (4) The compound should be kept fairly leveled and clear of rank vegetation.
(5) The Manager and Head of every school should put forth their best efforts for laying out gardens in the premises. Efforts should also be made for planting suitable trees in the school compound so that pupils may play and rest under
them during leisure hours. Care should be taken to see that trees are so planted as not to
(a) reduce unduly the space available for play, and
(b) obstruct the entry of the light in to the class rooms or in course of time cause damage to the structure.
4 School buildings to be situated away from places of burial or cremation, slaughter house and liquor shops.
(1) No School building shall be situated within a distance of 50 metres from a public burial place or public cremation ground or slaughter house. In the case of concrete vaults, the distance shall not be less than 25 metres. The public
burial place or public cremation ground or the concrete vaults shall not be visible from the school site. The visibility shall be prevented by constructing adequately high walls, not less than 6 feet in height in between the burial place or cremation ground or a slaughter house or the concrete vaults, as the case may be and the school compound.
(2) There shall be no place for sale of liquors within 183 metres of any school.
(3) No public burial place, public cremation ground, slaughter house or place for sale of liquor shall be established within the prohibited distances indicated in this rule.
5 Accommodation:-
(1) Every school shall have buildings of specification and plans approved by the Director/Deputy Director of Education and the buildings exclusive of varanda shall have dimension sufficient to provide accommodation for the various
rooms as specified in the following schedule.
SCHEDULE
Type of School and Accommodation required.
Lower Primary School : Class rooms, Headmaster's room (Office room), and accommodation for pupils to take noon-day meals.
Upper Primary School : Class rooms, Headmaster's room (Office room) Teachers room, Library, workshop and Appliances rooms, Tiffin sheds and accommodation for pupils for taking noon-day meals when sanctioned.
Secondary School and Higher Secondary Schools. : Class rooms, Office rooms, Headmaster's / Principal's
room, Teachers room, Laboratory room, Computer room, Library room, Craft room, Drill shed, Tiffin sheds and
accommodation for pupils for taking noon-day meals if there is a Primary Section in which noon-feeding is sanctioned.
Training Schools : Class rooms, Office and Headmaster's room, Library and Museum, Craft rooms, Drill sheds, Tiffin sheds and accommodation for pupils of the Lower Primary School for taking noon-day meals.
(2) There should also be a waiting room for girls in mixed schools coming under the last three types
(3) No school building shall be altered or added to materially except in accordance with a plan approved by the Department.
(4) The construction of buildings for Secondary Schools and Higher Secondary Schools in future should be so designed that it may be possible to adjust the design in course of time without much change in the original building so as to provide for additional accommodation for introducing two or more types of diversified courses.
(5) In the construction of school building the following instruction shall be specially noted.
1. COMPOSITION OF FLOORS
It is desirable that the floor should be made of a material which will admit of their being washed with water and that stone flagging or something better is aimed at .
2. Windows
Windows serve two purposes:-
i. Admission of light
ii. Admission of air
They should be placed at regular distances so as to ensure uniformity of light. Window-sills should not be more than 1.22 metres) from the ground. Windows for subsidiary lighting may have their sills more than 1.22 metres from the floor. The windows are should not be less than one-fifth of the floor area and wherever possible the principal lighting should be from the north.
3. Doors
Class rooms should not have to be used as passages from one part of the building to another. They should consequently not open into another but into passages or verandas. No class room should have more than two doors and in most cases one is preferable. The door or doors should be at the teacher's end of the room.
4. Ventilation
Unless there are windows reaching to the top of the wall and capable of being opened, ventilators are necessary near the top of the wall. The ventilators should be regularly distributed in the same way as the windows. For each pupil 1 (0.03 square metre) of open ventilator should be provided.
5. Roofs
The roof should, as far as possible, be impervious to heat.
6. Dimensions of Class rooms:-
The dimension of every class room shall be such as to provide, on the average, a minimum of eight square feet of floor space and eight cubic feet of air space per pupil on the rolls in the class or classes accommodated in the room, The dimensions of every class room in Upper Primary or Secondary including Higher Secondary schools should be (6 m x 6m x 3.7m) and in Lower Primary School it should be (6m x 5.5.m x 3m). In the case of building for Upper Primary or Secondary schools or Higher Secondary Schools a veranda (1.5m) wide should be provided at least on the front side.
(1) The superficial area of the floor, the cubic contents of the room, and the maximum number of pupils which may be accommodated in accordance with the details above shall be clearly marked in a conspicuous place in each class room.
(2) Class rooms shall be separated with walls or with partitions put up to a height of at least 2.4m
(3) In the case of Higher Secondary school the dimension of class rooms may be 9 m x 6 m x 3.7m.
(4) The building may be of any academically conducive shape having the specified air space and floor space.
(5) There should be facilities for the benefit of differently abled children
7. Training Schools:- The following minimum facilities shall be provided in training schools.
SCHOOL
Class Room facilities 1.9 sq. metres per student. Arts and Crafts. A hall 18 m x 6m Lavatories Adequately large with hygienic sanitation,
HOSTEL
Accommodation 4.6 sq.m per student. Kitchen and dining hall 1.9 sq.m. per student Lavatories One seat for six students with hygienic sanitation Bathrooms One bath rooms for six students
Staff Quarters 2
EQUIPMENT
(1) Class Room:- The Class rooms shall be equipped with tables and chairs for the students and other normal class room furniture.
(2) Hostels:- Each student shall be provided with a cot, table bookshelf and chair.
(3) Library and Laboratory:- A training school shall have a Library and laboratory suitable to the requirements of the syllabus.
(4) Crafts The equipment required for each craft shall be as given in the appendix along with the syllabus.
(5) Computer facilities Computer facilities should be provided in the Laboratory.
(6)Art and Physical Education: There shall be adequate facilities for the development of Art and Physical Education.
8. Repairs and annual Maintenance
(1) School buildings which are roofed with tiles should be provided with ceiling.
(2) School buildings and grounds shall be maintained in good repair and kept clean and tidy, scribbling on the walls, doors and windows, and furniture or otherwise defacing them shall be prevented.
(3) Annual maintenance works to school buildings including the thatching of roofs+ which are not tiled should be done satisfactorily and completed before the 10th day of May every year. Educational officers, Educational Agencies and managers will be held responsible for the safety of the buildings.
9. Latrines and urinals:-
(1) Latrines and urinals of suitable size as per approved Design and in sufficient number shall be provided in every school. These should be kept clean and satisfactory arrangements should be made for regular scavenging.
(2) There should be separate latrines and urinals for the pupils and the staff.
(3) In the case of mixed schools where both boys and girls are admitted, separate urinals and latrines should be provided for the girls with sufficient privacy and away from the latrines and urinals intended for the boys.
(4) Latrines and urinals should not be placed nearer than 12 metres to any school building. They should be so situated that the prevailing wind will not blow from them in the direction of the school buildings.
10. Supply of drinking water.
Arrangements shall be made for sufficient supply of good drinking water in all institutions.
11. Furniture:- Every school shall be provided with a minimum of durable furniture of suitable dimensions and specifications approved by the Department as shown in the following Schedule.
SCHEDULE
Lower Primary School:- Benches and desks in sufficient numbers, one blackboard With stand, one table and one chair for the teacher of every Class, one almirah, one time-piece or clock, one gong or bell and a Notice Board.
Upper Primary School:- Benches and desks in sufficient numbers, one black board With stand, one table and one chair for the teacher of every Class, tables, chairs, and other seats, map racks and almirahs as required for various rooms and various purposes. One clock, one gong or bell and a Notice Board.
Secondary and Higher Secondary and Training Schools:- As in the cases of Upper Primary Schools, in addition, laboratory equipments, work tables and work shelves for practical work according to requirements. One clock, one gong or bell and a Notice Board.
12. General:- The requirements of suitable desks and seats are that the pupils should sit with body fairly vertical for writing and be able to lean back for reading without any danger of curvature of the spine in either case. He should not stoop or lounge or sit any way, askew and the book or paper should rest at a comfortable distance below his eyes.
The following table of measurements is intended as a Guide to school managements in the construction of desks and seats.
Schedule of specification for items of Furniture in Metres
(a) Benches 1.83 metres long 0.46 metres high
(b) Black board .91 1.22 metres with stand
© Table 1.07 .76 x .76 with drawers
(d) Almirah 1.07 .33 x 1.68 with three shelves
(e) Map rack .76 1.2 with suitable number of brackets
(f) Shelf .91 .38 x 1.37 with three shelves
13. Appliances:-
(1) Every school shall have educational appliances as may be specified by the Department which shall include.
(a) Instruments for Mathematical Drawing.
(b) Globes, Maps, Charts and other apparatus for the teaching of History, Geography and allied subjects.
(c) Laboratory apparatus, materials, and equipments for the teaching of various sciences.
(d) Necessary appliances for the teaching of special subjects or crafts.
(e) A suitable room with sufficient number of computers.
(2) Every school shall have sufficient and suitable equipment for games and sports.
14. The facilities under Library, Laboratory appliances and other Equipment shall be effectively utilized and properly maintained. In case the facilities are not properly used the persons responsible shall be liable to disciplinary action.
15. School Development Committee
(1) Every School shall constitute school development committee consisting of the following members:-
1. Ward/Division member of the local self- - Chairman (Ex – officio) Government institution.
2. Headmaster/Principal - Convener (Ex – officio)
3. PTA President - Member
4. MTA President - Member
5. Senior most teacher - Member
6. Staff secretary - Member
7. Manager/ nominee - Member
8. Two local non –officials connected with the school. (to be nominated by the Educational Officer in consulta tion with the local self government institution)
(2) The term of the committee except the ex-officio member shall be one year from June to May.
(3) The functions of the committee shall be as follows:-
- Ensuring the effective functioning of the school.
- Ensuring maximum enrolment and retention.
- Taking effective steps for avoiding dropouts.
- Ensuring the effective mobilization and utilization of school resources.
- Taking effective steps against teacher absenteeism.
- Improving academic performance of every child in the school.
- Providing facilities for better performance in the co-curricular activities.
Opening of Co-operative Societies in Schools:- Co-operative Societies may be established in all schools where books, stationery, and other materials, required by students are made available to them at cost price and where a school does not have a Co-operative Society of its own, such school or any student thereof may join as member of a Co-operative Society of any other school nearby.
17. Type designs:- type designs for school building furniture etc and lists of essential and up to date equipments will be issued by the Department from time to time.
18. Use of school buildings and properties:-
(1) The premises of an educational institution (Government or private) or any subsidiary building appertaining to it or a playground or vacant site belonging to the institution, whether adjacent to it or removed from it, shall ordinarily be used only for the purposes of functions conducted by such institution. But the Executive Authority of the local self government institution concerned in the case of an institution under the control of a local self government institution,
the Deputy Director in the case of a Government school and the Manager in the case of a Private school, are empowered to grant permission on such conditions as he deems fit to impose for the use of such building, or ground or site belonging to the institution for holding public functions arranged by the management or by a department of the State or the Government of India or for any other educational purposes.
(2) The authority concerned should obtain the orders of the Director in doubtful
cases.
(3) In the case of Government, schools and schools under Local Self Government Institutions the Headmaster/Principal concerned shall give permission for the use of school buildings and properties. In the case of private schools, the Manager will grant permission. If any person is aggrieved by the decision of a Headmaster/Manager the Educational Officer concerned shall dispose of the matter.
(4) All school buildings and properties shall be made available free of rent for the purpose of holding Public examinations and teachers meeting under the auspices of the Department or approved by the Government.
Note : - The Educational Officer shall be competent to make available school buildings free of rent to Local Self Government Institutions, without in any way affecting the normal functioning of the school, for matters exclusively
concerned with the functioning of the Local Self Government Institutions such as meetings of Grama Sabhas.
(5) No unaided classes shall be conducted in the premises of an aided school.
(6) There shall not be any type of advertisement or hoardings in the schools premises, buildings, compound wall etc.
(7) No drill or physical training or any exhibition and business by a private agency or organisation or any function which is communal in character shall be held in the premises of a Government or Private School.
(8) Meetings of recognised teacher service association may be held free of cost in the school buildings subject to prior sanction by the appropriate authority.
19. Government's power to issue directions
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Rule 18, Government shall have power to issue directions that the school buildings and their properties (Government or private) shall not be used for any purpose specified in such direction and such direction when issued shall be binding on the departmental authorities and the Educational Agencies.
(2) Any person aggrieved by the directions issued under sub-rule (1) may apply to Government for a review of the matter and Government shall thereupon make a review and take a final decision. There shall be only one review and the application for review shall be made within a period of 30 days from the date of issue of the directions.
20. Loan of Government school buildings etc. for meeting and other Purposes:-
(1) Subject to Rule 18 Government school buildings and properties may be given to private parties for conducting meeting and other Functions under the conditions specified below:
Conditions:- (i) Rent at the rates fixed from time to time shall be levied from the party. Provided that the Government or any authority authorized by them in this behalf may for sufficient reasons exempt any party from the payment of such rent.
(ii) The parties to whom buildings and properties are given should furnish an undertaking in writing.
(a) to compensate any loss or damage that may be caused to the buildings or properties while they are with them.
(2) When a school building (Government or private) is requisitioned for purposes of election conducted either by the Government or by a local self government institution, the period of requisition shall be treated as holidays and the school shall be closed on those days. The requisition requiring the building should be sent to the Headmaster or Headmistress or Principal as the case may be, by the Returning Officer one clear week prior to the date of elections, as far as possible. The Headmaster or the Headmistress or Principal shall report the fact to the Educational officer concerned immediately on receipt of the requisition from the Returning Officer. Any deficiency in the minimum
attendance prescribed for such school on account of their closure under this Rule shall be condoned by the Deputy Director of Education.
21 School not to be used as prayer houses or as places of public worship.
(1) No person attending any Educational institution recognized by the State or receiving aid out of the State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or to attend to
any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless that person or if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto.
(2) Schools shall not under any circumstances be held in Churches or places of Public worship or prayer houses.
(a) The buildings referred to should not be used as prayer houses or places of public worship except out of school hours.
(b) Even out of school hours they may be used only for the purpose of prayer or public worship and not for religious propaganda of a controversial nature leading to create ill-feeling and strife between members of different religious denominations, or sects or for proselitization.
(c) The violation of the above conditions will entail the withdrawal of the permission to conduct the school in the building intended for prayer or public worship.
(d) In this rule "Guardian" means the father or mother and a person having legal custody of the child.
22 Imparting of Religious instruction:-
(1) Religious instruction can be permitted in private schools only under the following conditions:-
(a) The conditions in Rule 21 (1) shall be strictly complied with.
(b) State funds shall not be utilized for religious instruction.
(c) No proselitization shall be conducted.
(d) If religious instruction is imparted during School hours, the number and duration of the periods as required by the syllabus shall not thereby be reduced in any way.
(2)No teacher shall be required to impart religious instruction to the pupils, against his will.
23. School Library
(1) Every School shall have a library consisting of books for general reading and reference, for use by teachers and students.
(2) There shall be a qualified librarian in every Secondary and Higher Secondary School. In Primary Schools a Senior Teacher: (by turn) shall be put in charge of the Library and an allowance paid to him, equivalent to 5 % of his basic pay .
(3) Funds for setting up and running the school library shall consist of-
(i) Library Fees
(ii) PTA funds
(iii) School Development Committee funds
(iv) Donations
(4) One hour every week in Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools shall be set apart for library work.
(5) There shall be a School Library Committee with the following members :-
(i) Principal/Headmaster (Chairman)
(ii) Three Senor Teachers (to the nominated by Principal/Headmaster)
(iii) President of the PTA
(iv) Chairman of the School Development Committee
(v) Librarian (Convener)
The term of the Committee shall be three years. It shall meet at least twice a year. Selection of books, Periodicals and Newspapers for the library shall be done by the Committee.
(6) A separate room with sufficient furniture shall be set apart to be used as the school library.
(7) Multimedia titles and Internet connectivity shall be available in the library/computer room.
(8) Every officer inspecting the school shall invariably inspect the school library.
(9) The Department of General Education shall issue from time to time list of books suitable for use in schools.
