DEEPAK MISHRA, OP
Kendujhar: The government has introduced several schemes for school education, nutrition and overall development of children.
However, despite tall claims of transformation, the ground reality in rural areas presents a different picture.
Established July 18, 1959, the Government Primary School at Badabil village in Naranpur panchayat under the Kendujhar Sadar block has no functional school building.
The existing building has remained damaged for years, and no new building has been constructed.
As a result, students are attending classes at a Mamata Gruha near the school.
The school also lacks proper fencing or a compound wall, toilets and drinking water facilities, causing difficulties for students and prompting resentment among their parents.
According to available information, the school is located about 5 km from Kendujhar town and provides education from Shishu Vatika to Class V. The building has been damaged since 2011 and was declared unsafe.
As no new building has been constructed, classes are being conducted temporarily at the nearby Mamata Gruha. A total of 24 students are forced to sit in two small rooms. The school has one female teacher and one male teacher.
They teach students from Shishu Vatika to Class II in one room, while students from Classes III to V attend classes in the other.
While classes are conducted at the Mamata Gruha, students have their midday meals on the verandah of the nearby Anganwadi centre.
The school earlier had more than 50 students, but parents have been enrolling their children elsewhere because of its poor condition.
It also lacks toilet or drinking water facilities. Students fetch drinking water from an old tube well near the damaged school building, about 300 metres from the Mamata Gruha.
However, the availability of water depends on the op eration of a government pump house.
Since a motor has been installed in the tube well, water is not available when the pump house is not operated.
Villagers alleged that the basic facilities expected in a school are not being provided adequately at the institution.
Headmistress, Mamata Das, said the school building has remained damaged for a long time.
As classes are being conducted in two small rooms of the Ma Mata Gruha, students and teachers are facing several difficulties.
Although a new building is being constructed with funds available from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), it will also have only one classroom.
The school has not received any other funds, and basic infrastructure like a boundary wall, toilets and drinking water facility has not been provided.
As the infrastructure has not been improved, students are enrolling in other schools, she said. School management committee president Sebati Tangiria said she assumed the responsibility recently.
The problems were discussed at a committee meeting, and the matter would be taken up with the Block Education Officer, she said.
Naranpur sarpanch Renub ala Naik of Kendujhar Sadar block said the permanent primary school building had become dilapidated and unsafe.
As a temporary measure, only one classroom is being constructed with DMF funds. No arrangements are being made for a boundary wall, toilet or drinking water, she said.
Sadar Block Education Officer Omkar Anwesh said Rs 18 lakh had earlier been sanctioned by the Education Department for construction of a new school building after the old building became unfit for use.
However, the funds were returned after a dispute arose over ownership of the land on which the school is located.
Considering the difficulties faced by the school, a single classroom is now being constructed with DMF funds, Anwesh said.
No other basic facilities are currently being provided, he added.