No building for 3 years, this MP school holds classes in a lane
BHOPAL/SAGAR: They have come out on the streets, not to protest, but to study.
The students of a government primary school in Bundelkhand’s Chhatarpur are forced to attend classes in the open due to the unavailability of a school building.
The school began functioning in January 2014 but never got a building, forcing officials to eventually hold classes in a lane. It currently has 41 students and two teachers, including headmaster Rajendra Goswami.
Goswami said in the beginning, they operated the school out of a temple complex, after which they took a room in a nearby house.
“But the room was not good. It became hot when sunlight came in, making it difficult for students to study. We decided to hold classes in the lane as it was cooler,” he said.
According to the headmaster, he had informed authorities concerned about their predicament but no one paid any heed.
“Many a times, I informed senior officials and even approached the civic authority but I only got assurances. A nearby temple is famous and attracts visits from political leaders and senior administrative officials. They see children studying in the lane but no one seems to care,” he said.
While the school continued to face difficulty in the absence of a building, the education department and the local civic body passed the buck.
HS Tripathi, district programme coordinator of education department, said they had sanctioned half the amount for the construction of school building but the civic body failed to act upon.
“Nagar Palika is responsible for constructing the building as the school is in their area. We sent many reminders but were told that tender process was on for the construction,” he said.
Assuring that the school would soon have a building, Chhatarpur collector Ramesh Bhandari said, “I am instructing officials to take any private building on rent till the building is constructed. I will order the Nagar Palika to issue the tender and start construction at the earliest,” he said.