Khunta: Crores of rupees are being spent through a host of schemes and programmes for uplift of tribal students. But in many tribal pockets, education system is in a sorry state in the absence of basic facilities like drinking water, electricity and toilets let alone decent accommodation.
Some ashram schools in Gopabandhunagar block lack drinking water. More difficult days are ahead for them in summer when students will struggle to avail a drop of water.
Balidiha Ashram School is a case in point. Lack of drinking water and toilets is a major problem here. Students have to trek at least one km daily to carry out their ablutions at river Gangahar, apart from fetching water for other purposes.
The school is run by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) of Udala. As many as 300 students study in the school from Class I to VII. Of them, 187 girl students stay in hostel, but what has been upsetting them is the absence of water and toilet facilities.
It is alleged despite repeated reminders by guardians and locals, ITDA authorities have taken no steps to sort out these issues.
Students said many toilets on the school premises are lying in disuse for various reasons. Two open wells are on its premises, but they have gone dry even in February. Water supply to the hostel through a stand-post is quite inadequate for cooking and drinking.
In such a situation, the hostel inmates have no way but to force themselves to walk one km to take a bath in river Gangahar on a daily basis. The river is drying too. Water is available only at deep places.
It is alleged girl students expose themselves to contaminated water and unhygienic condition while bathing in the river. They also wash their clothes there. But they will face acute shortage of water in coming days when the river will dry up.
At a time when the district administration has been trying hard to make the block a complete sanitised one, lack of basic facilities at educational institutes will come its way.
Headmaster Manas Pradhan said he has apprised the higher-ups of the problems.
Earlier, the ITDA had made efforts to drill a tube-well, but it went in vain, he added. PNN
