800 kids attend classes risking life in Jhenidah
Students attend their class under the decrepit roof of century-old Raigram High School in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenidah district.Photo: STAR
Students and teachers of century-old Raigram High School, situated some five kilometres away from Kaliganj upazila headquarters, have to attend classes amid risk as several cracks have developed on the roof of the worn-out building. Eight classes comprising about 800 students are held under the shabby roof, lumps of plaster often fall on them. "A few days ago I was hurt and traumatised when a lump of plaster fell on my shoulder," said Abir Hossain, a student of class eight of the school. Priyo Brata Dey, another student of the class, was also hurt in the incident. The present two-storyed building of the school, established by Babu Nagendranath Sen of Raigram village, was built in 1907. "The old building has become risky but no steps have yet been taken to shift the classes to another place. We remain worried as the roof of the school may collapse any time taking a big toll," said Jaharul Islam, a teacher of the school. "The roof was made without proper netting and covering under the rod was inadequate. Consequently the rod has come out and rusted. It may collapse any time," Kaliganj upazila engineer Shib Shankor said. Milon Hossain, headmaster of the school, said he has informed the chairman of school managing committee about the matter. "A big amount of money is required to repair the roof of the school. I have sought help from local lawmaker in this regard," said managing committee chairman Biswanath Bhattacharya. When contacted, local lawmaker Abdul Mannan said, "If the school authorities apply to me I will sanction the amount needed for repair of the worn out building. Managing committee chairman of the school informed me orally." Upazila Secondary Education Officer Abdul Bari said nobody has informed him in this regard. He added that he would shortly visit the institute and take necessary step.
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