Phulbani: More than 200 students of Tilakpanga High School under Shinepara panchayat of Nuagaon block in Kandhamal district take their classes under umbrella cover every time it rains since the leaking roof of their school makes it impossible to open their books otherwise.
According to a villager, a tender worth Rs 50 lakh had been floated to construct a new building since this building was deemed unsafe. However, the project got stuck and later cancelled owing to several reasons.
“It is not even possible to construct the school building with that amount,” the contractor said.
This school, that houses more than 200 students from class-I to X, is in a dilapidated condition making it unsafe for both students and teachers. Every time it rains, four out of six classrooms leak. The teachers along with students sit holding umbrellas over their heads to save themselves from getting drenched even while inside their classrooms.
Classrooms apart, the condition of the newly built kitchen is not any better either. The kitchen building, built under ‘Sarba Sikshya Abhijan’, has started leaking owing to poor quality of construction. It has since been locked down. The mid-day meal gets prepared under a half-broken asbestos sheet.
To add to the issue, the entire school is dependent on a single toilet and dependent on a single tube-well that bring out a reddish water unfit for drinking.
When asked, the Kandhamal district education officer tried to put the blame on the panchayat. “Construction is not under our purview,” he said.
PNN