Khandapada: Sara Pokhari Project Upper Primary School in Nuagadia Sahi Panchayat of Nayagada district’s Khandapada block is grappling with several problems, including a shortage of teachers and classrooms, inadequate drinking water and the absence of a kitchen for preparing midday meals.
Students are forced to depend on water contaminated with fluoride, while the lack of a boundary wall leaves the school premises exposed. Poor infrastructure has also led to a steady decline in enrollment.
The school had more than 100 students in 2020, but the number has now fallen to 70. Established in 1980, the school offers classes from Sishu Vatika through Class VIII.
It has 70 students across nine classes. Of its five classrooms, two are in dilapidated condition. School furniture is stored in these rooms, while students of two classes also attend lessons there.
The remaining three rooms are used to accommodate students of seven classes, making teaching difficult, acting headmaster Madhusudan Mohan Singh and assistant teacher Siddhartha Kumar Mohapatra said.
The school has only four teachers, including the head master, to teach all nine classes, creating serious difficulties in managing lessons.
Located on a hill, the school receives drinking water through a piped supply provided by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation department. However, water does not reach the premises regularly.
Two tube wells were installed near the school to meet its drinking water needs.
One has become defunct, while the other supplies fluoride-contaminated water that is unfit for drinking.
Although midday meals are provided to students, the absence of a kitchen forces cooks to prepare food on the school verandah, where students eat their meals too.
The absence of a boundary wall allows stray cattle and antisocial elements to enter the premises freely, disrupting the academic environment.
The school’s toilets are in a dilapidated condition, forcing students to go to a nearby hillside covered with trees and bushes to relieve themselves.
This exposes them to the risk of encountering reptiles found in the area.
School authorities, the management committee and villagers have repeatedly brought these problems to the attention of the concerned officials, but no action has been taken, they alleged.
School management committee president Jeetendra Kumar Swain said these problems have persisted for a long time, discouraging children from enrolling in the school.
Headmaster Madhu Sudan Mohan Singh said the school was repaired in 2025 using a grant of Rs 7.10 lakh from the Zilla Parishad fund.
The work included repairs, plastering and painting. However, additional classrooms are urgently needed, and a lack of funds has prevented their construction, he said.
Khandapada Block Education Officer Kailash Chandra Kar said another female teacher was appointed to the school two weeks ago to address the staff shortage.
Other infrastructure improvements would be undertaken by the block authorities, but the school management committee must first bring the requirements to the attention of the Khandapada BDO, he said.
BDO Ankur Abhilash said no special grant had been sanctioned for the school so far.
However, he would visit the high school soon and make efforts to create a better learning environment, particularly by exploring the construction of additional classrooms, he said.