TUSHAR KANTA MOHANTY/ SHANKAR PUJARI, OP
Nandapur/Padua: The PM SHRI-designated Padua Government Higher Secondary School in Nandapur block of Koraput district is facing serious infrastructure problems, raising concerns about the safety and basic facilities of its 919 students.
Established in 1984 at the headquarters of Kulabira panchayat, the school has 665 students from Sishu Vatika through Class X and 254 students in higher secondary classes.
Several old and abandoned classrooms on the campus are in a dilapidated condition, with garbage, rubble and chunks of broken walls scattered inside.
The structures have also become breeding grounds for reptiles.
An electric pole near the main entrance is leaning against a eucalyptus tree, posing another safety concern.
Classrooms from Class I through Class XII reportedly have leaking roofs, while plaster is peeling from walls and ceilings.
The smart classroom, smart library and science laboratory are also in poor condition.
Water leakage has damaged false ceilings, with pieces reportedly falling from them.
The school has only two classrooms for Classes I to V, three for Classes VI to VIII and four for Classes IX, X and higher secondary classes.
The shortage of classrooms has forced students to study in the limited available space.
Drinking water and sanitation facilities are also inadequate.
A tube well on the campus supplies muddy water and is unfit for use.
Another tube well fitted with a motor provides water for drinking and cooking the midday meal.
However, frequent power cuts, reportedly occurring about 15 days a month, have worsened the water shortage.
The school’s old toilets are damaged and lack a water supply, making them unusable.
Students, teachers and staff are consequently forced to go outside to relieve themselves.
The campus also has a 100- bed girls’ hostel for tribal students under the ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backwards Classes Welfare Department.
A boys’ hostel accommodates 160 students from 13 panchayats, but its walls, plaster, roof, doors and windows are in a dilapidated condition.
The absence of a boundary wall has also raised concerns among parents about the safety of students.
School Management Committee President Raghunath Kirsani said the education department and block administration had repeatedly been informed about the school’s poor condition, but no action had been taken.
Block Education Officer Bhabani Nandan Patnaik said authorities at the block, district and state levels had been informed about the problems.
School authorities have been directed to demolish the old buildings using funds available under the SIG grant, he said.
Block Development Officer Durga Prasad Dora said arrangements had been made to construct additional classrooms and toilets.
The Rural Development Department has prepared a cost estimate of Rs 1.62 crore for construction of Plus II classrooms and sent it for approval.
Work on the projects will begin soon, he said.
Dora said the district administration had also been asked to construct a boundary wall.
District Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan visited the school recently and directed the headmistress to submit a proposal through the Block Welfare Extension Officer for construction of a new hostel, following due procedure, he said.
