Gop: The School and Mass Education (S&ME) department and the Puri district administration are yet to repair all the damaged school buildings in Gop block here even though around two-and-a-half months have passed since cyclonic storm Fani hit the state.
Owing to delay in the restoration of school buildings, the students are now attending classes under trees or makeshift sheds with polythene roof.
According to sources, the cyclonic storm had damaged altogether 232 primary and high schools out of the total 254 in Gop block.
The Gop block authorities had been assigned to repair the damaged buildings and other infrastructure of 99 schools while the restoration work at the remaining 133 schools was supposed to be carried out by other departments of the district administration, sources said.
The block authorities have completed restoration work at 87 schools out of the total 99 assigned to them. However, other departments have so far failed to carry out repair work at a majority of the 133 schools assigned to them, sources said.
“The S&ME department and the district administration are yet to repair at least 50 per cent of the damaged schools. Now, students of some schools are attending classes under trees or polythene sheds,” said a social activist.
Sources, meanwhile, claimed that some cyclone victims are still residing in school buildings. As a result, the school authorities are facing problems to hold classes.
Gop block education officer (BEO) Basanta Kumar Mishra said the administration is carrying out the repair work at schools on war footing. “We hope that the work would be completed soon,” he added.
