By Rajendra Narayan Singh, OP
Raghunathpur: Despite various government initiatives to improve education, Government High School, Ganailo in Raghunathpur block of Jagatsinghpur district continues to grapple with crumbling infrastructure, leaking classroom roofs, a shortage of classrooms and basic amenities, putting students and teachers at risk and disrupting academic activities.
Established in 1958, the school is in a dilapidated condition, with rainwater leaking through the roofs of several classrooms due to a prolonged lack of repairs, disrupting lessons. Due to a shortage of space, teachers are forced to sit in a multipurpose cyclone shelter that has been declared unsafe.
Sports equipment is also stored in the building, raising concerns about their safety if the structure collapses. The school, which once catered to more than 300 students from 10 to 12 nearby panchayats, now has 203 students, from Sishu Vatika (kindergarten) to Class X.
However, it lacks adequate classrooms, toilets and safe drinking water. The school has eight classrooms, but students from multiple classes are often made to sit together in a single room. A shortage of teachers has further affected the teaching process. Several old buildings on the campus have become unfi t for classes, but no alternative arrangements have been made. Parents said studying in such unsafe and inadequate conditions could adversely affect children’s mental and intellectual development.
School Management Committee president Pramod Kumar Das said no alternative arrangements had been made despite the deteriorating condition of the buildings. Meanwhile, a 30-foot section of the school’s front boundary wall collapsed during recent prolonged rain and strong winds triggered by a low-pressure system. Local parents Pankaj Das, Somanath Ray, Dipti Ranjan Biswal and Subrat Mallik alleged that poor construction quality had caused the collapse. The wall had been built only four years ago, they said.
Rain also leaves the school premises waterlogged and muddy, making it difficult for students to move around. Acting headmistress Banalakshmi Patra said the school lacked adequate classrooms and toilets. She acknowledged that teachers were using an unsafe building because of a shortage of space, while sports equipment was also stored there. Patra said the dilapidated cyclone shelter would be completely closed off and entry prohibited to prevent accidents.
Three years ago, two classrooms, a science laboratory and an e-library were built at a cost of Rs 45 lakh under the state government’s 5T initiative. The school also received Rs 5 lakh from the State Finance Commission fund and Rs 3 lakh from the state government for toilet construction. A new building is currently being constructed at a cost of Rs 19 lakh, Patra said.
School management committee president Das and villagers have urged the District Collector to ensure repairs to leaking classroom roofs, construction of additional classrooms and toilets, and reconstruction of the damaged boundary wall. Block Education Officer Chinmaya Rout said he had recently taken charge. He added that the complaints would be investigated and the findings brought to the attention of higher authorities.