Leaking school roof drenches textbooks, children dry them in yard

In a government primary school at Surajpura in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, a rusted tin roof allowed rain to seep into the kitchen where textbooks were stored, soaking them. A video showing dozens of books laid out on the schoolyard for drying, with children occasionally flipping through them, went viral and drew criticism. The district education department issued a show-cause notice to the school and tasked the Block Resource Coordinator, Mukesh Saxena, with conducting an inquiry.

Saxena reported that the wet books were old copies collected from former students and not currently in use, and that children had taken interest in them during a lunch break. The school’s staff said the pupils were not instructed to guard the books. A detailed report will be submitted to the district project coordinator for further action.