By Bijay Panda, OP
Ganijang: The Government Primary School at Belda, Mundasahi under Ganijang panchayat in Bhadrak district’s Banta block is functioning amid severe infrastructural shortcomings, with 119 students forced to study in just two classrooms.
The school lacks adequate classrooms, a storeroom, office, toilets and piped drinking water facilities. Due to the shortage of classrooms, some students are forced to attend classes in the school verandah. The school also does not have an adequate kitchen for preparing mid-day meals or separate toilets for boys and girls.
The area around the hand pump used by students for drinking water is also unhygienic, raising concerns over their health and safety. Established in 2008, the school provides education from Sishu Vatika to Class V and currently has 119 students.
Although five classrooms are required, only two are available. As a result, students from multiple classes are accommodated in the same room, while some have to sit in the verandah. The arrangement has adversely affected teaching and learning.
When a teacher teaches in one class, students from another class sharing the same room often become disruptive, disturbing the lesson. At the same time, teachers find it difficult to teach two classes simultaneously. The lack of basic infrastructure has created considerable difficulties for students and teachers.
Parents and local residents have expressed concern over the condition of the school and urged the authorities to take immediate steps to provide the required classrooms and basic facilities. At a time when the government promotes the slogan ‘Sabhien Padhiba, Sabhien Badhiba (All learn, all grow),’ the condition of the school raises questions about the implementation of basic educational infrastructure at the grassroots level.
The school has three regular teachers including female teachers and one Sishu Sevika (child-care worker) for the Shishu Vatika section. However, the school has been functioning without a permanent headmaster for the past fi ve years and is being managed by an in-charge headmaster. School Management Committee president Mitarani Nath said the shortage of classrooms was disrupting students’ studies.
She also said cooking the midday meal in a small room available space was difficult. As there are no separate toilets for boys and girls, all students are forced to use a single toilet. Nath demanded that the problems be resolved immediately. Headmaster (in-charge) Pratap Chandra Mohapatra said the absence of a permanent headmaster since 2022 had made it difficult to manage both the school and the hostel.
More than 75 students stay in the hostel, creating difficulties in cooking meals and looking after them, he said. The shortage of classrooms was also affecting teaching, while the absence of an office room was creating difficulties in handling official paperwork, Mohapatra said.
He added that the block education officer had been informed about the problems. Block Education Officer (BEO), Chittaranjan Mohanty said the school needed additional classrooms. The district education officer and block development officer had been asked to provide new rooms, he said.
Mohanty said the school had not received any special grant in the past five years, hampering infrastructure development. He said steps would be taken to appoint additional teachers based on the student-teacher ratio.