By Banchhanidhi Dey, OP
Baleshwar: Students at a government high school in Baleshwar district are attending classes in a dilapidated brick-and-asbestos structure, as the school grapples with a shortage of classrooms and other infrastructure gaps, parents and local residents said.
The Government Nodal High School, located in Hirapur in the Gadapada panchayat of Basta block, was established in 1948. Despite operating for nearly 80 years, the school has seen little meaningful development, residents alleged.
The school lacks sufficient classrooms for its students, forcing them to study in an old structure with brick walls and an asbestos roof — a setup parents describe as unsafe. The campus also lacks boundary walls and a playground. In the staff common room, rainwater leaks through the roof during rain.
Parents in the area blame the school’s poor and disorganised infrastructure for a steady decline in enrolment over the years. The institution began as a primary school before being upgraded to a high school in 1983.
A separate UGUP school (covering Classes I to VII) that had operated on the same campus was merged with the high school October 1, 2017. The school later underwent renovation under the previous government’s 5T scheme, which brought smart classrooms and a drinking water facility to the campus.
However, the shortage of classrooms persisted and students have continued to attend classes in the aging, asbestos-roofed building, which residents say poses a safety risk. Enrolment at the school has dropped significantly in recent years.
Earlier, at its peak, the school had more than 500 students enrolled. However, now only 346 students are enrolled across Classes I to X, a decline attributed to the poor conditions. Due to the classroom shortage, students from Classes I, II and III are currently taught together in a single classroom.
Separately, students of two more classes are being taught in unsafe conditions in one of three old brick-and-asbestos structures that predate the school’s more recent renovations. Of the total student strength, about 30 per cent belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, according to school data.
Headmaster Subal Kumar Behera said two smart classrooms, drinking water facilities and modern sports equipment were provided under 5T initiative. The state government has now proposed recognising the school as a Godavarish School, and the department has completed a survey for that purpose, but the final report has not yet been submitted. Behera said special attention is being given to creating a strong academic environment for students.
However, he said the school’s managing committee could not be formed because of a lack of quorum. Gopal Chandra Sahu, president of the school’s alumni association, said the school has only eight classrooms for students across 10 classes.
Two of those classrooms are housed in abandoned, asbestos-roofed structures, which he said disrupts teaching. Sahu called for an improved playground to support students’ physical and mental development, and said better lighting in the school campus is also urgently needed.
Chhotray Murmu, a school alumnus who later served as the state government’s finance adviser and special secretary in the Department of General Administration and Public Grievances, said he studied at the school and passed Class VIII in 1971-72.
He recalled that Pitambar Nayak, the headmaster at the time, bought him a shirt. Despite the poverty he faced, Murmu said the dedication of his teachers helped him succeed, and he said the school still carries that legacy of excellence today.
Murmu said that if the government addresses the school’s basic infrastructure problems, it could help shape a better future for its students.
District Education Officer Basant Kumar Nayak said when asked that the school has not yet been approved under the Godavarish School scheme. He said that once government funding is released, steps will be taken to build the necessary infrastructure and additional classrooms.