In Barishal, students are attending classes in more than 200 buildings which are dilapidated. There are incidences in these primary schools when students were injured by plaster falling from the walls.
In many schools where classroom cannot be used in any way, students are forced to attend classes out in the open. During rainy season, students also face a lot of problems since they don’t have any space for classes.
Teachers and management committee members of the schools have said that though higher ups were informed, no initiatives were taken to carry out any reforms.
For instance, the Char Darial Government Primary School is 35 years old and all four rooms are in shabby condition with plasters falling down.
The roof of the building may give in any time and already many students have been injured by large chunks of masonry falling on them.
Despite the risks, 263 students attend classes. Principal of the school, Nusrat Jahan, says: “We applied several times, asking for the building to be repaired but received no response.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday last, the beam at the library room of Pilkhana Government Primary School fell and teachers narrowly escaped an accident.
Headmistress Aporna Roy says, “Though constructed in 1998, the building has become rickety and a major accident may happen any time.”
A similar situation is noticed in several other schools where students are attending classes with the risk of grave accidents hanging over them.
It’s found that there are more than 200 government schools in Barishal which are deemed highly risky and in these ramshackle establishments, students are often compelled to attend classes under an open sky.
In some cases, students are forced to sit in classes with crumbling plaster and masonry. In fear of possible danger, many students stop coming to school.
For valid reason, guardians of students are worried and often spend anxious hours when their children are late in coming back home.
Deputy-director of Barishal Primary Education Department, S M Faruk said: “Information of schools needing urgent repair has been sent to Dhaka and work will begin once fund is allocated.”
However, he could not specify a date for the start of the work.