LUCKNOW, June 10 -- Many aided secondary schools in Lucknow, once celebrated as benchmarks of quality education, are now staring at potential closure, plagued by dilapidated buildings and rapidly declining enrollment. The crisis mirrors the recent, abrupt shutdowns of Chutki Bhandar Girls' Inter College and Vidya Mandir Balika Kanya Vidyalay, which closed due to dilapidated structure and lease related issues, respectively. Some of these schools even lack basic facilities like lights, fans and proper plastering on the walls and ceilings. Ceilings and walls of the building and classrooms need immediate attention at Girdhari Singh Inder Kunwar Inter College, Saraswati Kanya Vidyalaya, Vishnu Narayan Inter College, Queens College, Balika Inter College Moti Nagar to name a few. At Harishchandra Inter College, the chemistry lab has been shut for several years after two portions of its ceiling collapsed in the middle of the night. Its physics lab has been shut as well due to water seepage. An official said its high school lab was used at times, but layers of dust on the furniture suggested it was not used frequently. These schools can get financial assistance for refurbishment under UP government's 'Project Alankar' but the project has a specific guideline, which many of these colleges are unable to meet - a minimum of 300 students and capacity to bear 25% of the total cost of refurbishment. Rajni Yadav, principal of Lucknow Inter College, said the school has been facing a crunch both in terms of number of students and funds. "It is a mammoth task to gather 25% funds from the nominal fee we receive from the students of classes 9-12. The infrastructure is not appealing enough to attract sufficient students, so the government should consider other ways to help schools like ours," said Yadav. State vice president and spokesperson UP Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, RP Mishra, said over 60% of the aided schools in the city are as old as 75 years or more. "Infrastructure of most of these schools is in a dilapidated state and leads to disinterest of students and parents. At the same time, these schools lack the capacity to arrange 25% of the funds. There should be a provision for aided schools that those fitting the 75-year criteria but failing to fulfill the requirement of managing 25% amount and having 300 students should also get some grants so that the authorities can work on the infrastructure gradually," said Mishra. He also suggested that while the government provides funds for teaching staff, authorities should look into providing amounts at least 5% of the teacher's salaries extra to the schools for management and upkeep of the buildings. "Those failing to maintain the building should be taken over by the education department after a prescribed period of time," Mishra added. District inspector of schools (DIoS), Devendra Kumar Pandey, said: "I have joined recently, but will inspect the aided schools shortly to ensure no further closures. This will help in safeguarding the future of students who are not able to afford private education."...