Nuapada: Students at Patadara (Kuimunda) Upgraded Government High School in Boden block of Nuapada district are forced to study amid a severe lack of basic facilities, with neither toilets nor safe drinking water available on the school premises. Established in 1967, the school serves students from 14 villages and hamlets. It currently has 106 students from Class I to X and six teachers for them.
Despite its long history, the school continues to lack adequate classrooms and a proper building, with students attending classes in old asbestos- and tin-roofed structures. Three classrooms were damaged after asbestos sheets were blown away during a Nor’wester storm earlier this year. As the rooms have not been repaired, students have been forced to attend classes on the verandah. Persistent rain also leads to waterlogging on the school premises, with rainwater entering classrooms and disrupting classes. The school does not have separate toilets for boys and girls, forcing students to go outside when they need to relieve themselves.
There is also no proper drinking water facility on the premises. According to the school management committee, water is drawn from pits dug in a nearby stream for cooking the midday meal. Students reportedly use the same water to wash their meal trays and, in the absence of an alternative source, drink it. The school also lacks electricity, a playground and adequate facilities for physical education.
Teachers, meanwhile, travel about 10 kilometres each day along hilly roads because there is no accommodation available on the school premises. School management committee president Sachindra Majhi said the authorities, including the Block Development Officer (BDO), Block Education Officer (BEO), District Education Officer (DEO) and District Collector, had been informed in writing about the problems but no effective action had been taken. DEO Prashant Kumar Mohanty said he was not aware of the school’s problems. He said he would first ascertain whether the school comes under the block grant system and take steps to address the issues thereafter.
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