Bant: The sorry state of primary education in this block of Bhadrak district can be figured out if the miserable condition of Harihatasahi primary school is taken note of.
With no building, the school has been running from an unprotected hut for the last 10 years.
According to reports, an EGS centre was running from the hut earlier. In 2006, the school and mass education department closed the centre and opened the project primary school.
Locals say all children are entitled to primary education under Right to Education Act.
As per guidelines, children are entitled to right academic environment along with provision of free textbooks, uniforms, nutritional food and toilets. But this school has been deprived of all such facilities, they said, adding the education department has failed to take not of the sorry state of the school. Besides, only two teachers are engaged for five classes in the school. They find it too difficult to handle kids from Class-1 to V in a hut with no walls around. Studies are worst affected in rainy and winter seasons.
Moreover, during festivals and other occasions, studies are affected, Dadal Kumar Das, a local said.
Lack of toilets is another problem confronting the teachers and students. According to sources, a couple of lady teachers got their transfers from here due to the problem.
”The school also lacks kitchen to prepare mid-day meal,” said headmaster Hemant Kumar Jena.
Locals say crores of rupees are being spent by the government to boost primary education through various schemes, but many schools have been plagued by infrastructure and teacher shortage.
Though villagers had taken up the issue with the education department, no step was taken to set up a building for the school, said ward member Ananta Charan Mohanty.
Cluster resources centre coordinator Anam Charan Jena, however, claimed that the villagers did not provide land for school building.
Locals demanded immediate steps for construction of building with a toilet and kitchen for the school. PNN
