Kendrapara: Even as the government emphasizes on providing better education to students, the objective is far from being met in many schools. A case in point is the Gyanamayee High School, a block grant high school built in the name of Gyanamayee Devi, wife of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik at Barakolikhola village under Mahakalpara block in Kendrapara district.
The school is a picture of sheer neglect as hundreds of students here study in a thatched house that is on the verge of collapse pushing students’ lives into risk.
Established in 1985, the school was destroyed in the 1999 Super Cyclone. Due to lack of cement plasters, its walls have become dilapidated. This has become unsafe for students inside the building.
Spending from their pockets, teachers set up a thatched house without walls and provide lessons to students between Class VIII and Class X with a total strength of 351 students. As many as seven teachers and four non-teaching staff are engaged in the school.
Though more than 19 years have passed since its establishment, students here are forced to study in a thatched room amid adverse condition. They have to attend classes by sitting on a polythene sheet due to absence of tables and chairs. Situation compounds when it rains as water leaks from the school building. During winter, students have to study amid cold waves.
Though a school building has been set up under MPLAD fund, it is yet to be inaugurated”, said Sumitra Barik, a Class IX girl.
Ajamila Behera, the assistant headmaster said the district collector, local MLA and ministers have paid several visits to the school. They have made promises to provie basic amenities, but these promises have proved hollow.
When contacted, District Education Officer Sangram Keshari Sahu said the government has been providing financial assistance to the block grant school even though it has to meet several statutory conditions like student strength, results, pass percentages, own land, among others. Though the government has been providing salaries to block grant school teachers, the school committee here carries out the developmental work with their own initiatives. PNN