Aradi: Even as a project primary school was set up in a remote area of Tihidi block in Bhadrak district in 2012 to ensure elementary education for children, it has almost lost its existence, thanks to village politics, a report said.
The miserable state of the school can be gauged from the fact that a thatched single classroom doubles up as kitchen.
The student strength of the school was 40 when it was established at Nuasahi in Shyamsundarpur panchayat. However, it has come down to 30 at present.
According to sources, the primary school started functioning in a thatched house due to efforts of the villagers but it didn’t last long in the absence of proper upkeep. Left with no option, the headmaster set up a one-room shanty in its place spending Rs 10,000 from his pocket last year. The shanty is used as classroom as well as the kitchen.
Children attending classes amid smoke generated during preparation of mid-day meal. This part, the school has a swampy surrounding full of weeds.
Some people don’t even hesitate to defecate near the school. This is not an ideal environment for children to gain knowledge, said villagers.
The teachers are least concerned about the school’s development and the village politics only makes the matter worse, some residents revealed under condition of anonymity.
The villagers are baffled as to why the school has been deprived of grant sanctioned by the Sarva Sikhya Abhiyan for construction of its building.
Bhimsen Barik, headmaster of the school, said he has not received cooperation from villagers in the development of the school.
Additional block education officer Anil Kumar Nayak said the authorities have sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for the new building. The construction would start at the beginning of the next academic session, he added. PNN