Fear slithers into girls school

DHARMAPURI: Students of Dharmapuri Avvaiyar Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School have expres­sed fear to enter their school campus because the area is infested with snakes.The students have complained that even after submitting several memoranda to the school management as well as the parent-teacher association, no action has been taken.The school has about 3,000 students studying in Classes VI to XII. According to students, they have sighted several snakes on the campus, which they suspect to be poisonous. According to them, in January alone, they have spotted about seven snakes on the campus and the girls said they were afraid to even walk around the campus.Headmaster of the school, Muniyan said that the presence of snakes is because of thick bushes that surround the forest range office that is situated among the school buildings. Male teachers were requested to roam the campus with sticks to clear the area of snakes, he said.However, as the problem persists, the girls requested the school management to take further steps to rid the campus of snakes. As no action was taken, students informed the chief educational officer of the problem, who in turn informed collector R Lilly. The girls now hope the collector will initiate steps to rid the campus of snakes.Beside the snake menace, the students have complained that the school does not have proper toiled facilities.