Angul: After having been used as quarantine centres for migrant labourers in the initial days of COVID-19 outbreak and then lying vacant for a long period, the schools in Angul district are far from what they used to be. OrissaPOST visited several schools in the district to see their present condition after lying vacant for such a long period.
COVID-19 outbreak, subsequent lockdowns and layoffs forced migrant labourers working in other states to return Odisha. Back then, it was a big challenge for the state government to keep them isolated from their family members to contain the spread of the disease in the state.
The government at that point decided to convert the schools into quarantine centres. After getting the schools from the education department, the administration took steps to equip these facilities as quarantine centres.
There are 1,423 upper primary schools and 243 high schools in Angul district. Of them, 326 were chosen for quarantine centres.
During their stay, cases of these outstation returnees venting their ire over mismanagement on school properties were reported from several centres. Several months later, COVID-19 cases came down and the administration handed over the schools again to the education department.
Out of the 326 schools that were converted as quarantine centres, there were many such schools that used to be held up as examples for their greenery and neat and clean environments. These institutions have now been reduced to mere shadows of their former selves.
A peep into Angul Girls’ High School will be enough to realise the condition of other schools. Here, at the Girls’ High School, a good number of tables and chairs can be seen lying broken. Chhendipada High School projects a worse picture. The school authorities had installed a drinking water facility to provide pure drinking water to their students at a cost of Rs 1,00,000. This facility is lying out of order. Most schools are facing similar issues. While some have their classroom furniture damaged, others have electrical equipment damaged or missing.
As of December last week, the school authorities are at a loss thinking about how to bring the schools back to their earlier stage. Since they don’t have funds to set things in order, they are learnt to have taken the matter up with the education department and district administration. However, nothing has been communicated to the school authorities so far.
Meanwhile, notification has been issued asking the school authorities across the state to be ready as the announcement of reopening of schools can come at any time. School authorities as well as parents are worried thinking about how the students will manage to attend classes once the school reopens. On conditions of anonymity, several education department officials observed that without financial assistance from the administration, these schools can’t get back their lost sheen.
PNN