By Sadasiba Praharaj, OP
Nabarangpur: Students of Biriguda Nodal Govt High School under Manchagaon panchayat in Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur district are being forced to study in cramped and unsafe conditions because of inadequate infrastructure and delays in completing a new school building.
The school was upgraded from a primary school to a high school in 1993, but it still lacks adequate infrastructure. About 202 students from Shishu Vatika to Class X study on the primary school campus. Only four classrooms are currently in use, while five others are in a dilapidated condition.
Worn-out cement flooring has exposed the earth in several places, while leaking roofs allow rainwater into the classrooms. The school’s main gate is made of bamboo. Its tubewell supplies muddy water that is unfit for consumption and has to be filtered before being used to prepare midday meals, said cooks Subhadra Hial and Jashoda Muduli. The only toilet on the premises has completely collapsed, forcing students and teachers to use the open land behind the school.
The absence of a boundary wall there has also raised security concerns. For construction of the high school building, the block administration provided Rs 55 lakh to the school in two installments February 3 and March 11, 2023. In addition, Rs 10 lakh is reportedly being spent through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Rs 15 lakh from the panchayat fund. Despite the expenditure of such a substantial amount, the construction remains incomplete, raising questions from local resident Ashok Takri.
School Management Committee president Bhimsen Nayak said construction of the high school building, which had remained stalled for several days, resumed recently after a complaint about the school’s problems was submitted to the Chief Minister. Tentulikhunti BDO Manoj Panigrahi said the new building would be made functional soon and tables and chairs had already been installed.
He said water would be supplied to both schools through the rural piped drinking water supply system. District Education Officer Chhatrapati Sahu said the primary school would get a new toilet within a week and three classrooms of the high school would be opened within a fortnight. He said the BDO had been directed to complete the high school construction work immediately.
However, even after 15 days, the assurances have not been implemented, residents said. Villagers have demanded completion of the new building, repair or replacement of the dilapidated classrooms, safe drinking water, a new toilet and a boundary wall.