<i>Kids attend classes under tree as school building too risky</i>
Children of Chhaigari Non-government Primary School in Sadullapur upazila of Gaibandha district attend classes under the open sky as the school building has turned too risky. Photo: STAR
Over 150 students of Chaigari Gobindapur Registered Primary School in Sadullapur upazila under the district attend classes under trees as the schoolhouse has turned too risky. The school was set up in 1992 and the government in 2001-02 fiscal year allocated a fund of Tk 6 lakh 72 thousand for construction of the schoolhouse, said Mizanur Rahman Salim, headmaster of the school. But shortly after the construction, rainwater started seeping through the roof as the contractor used below standard construction materials. Within a few years, plaster fell off the walls and roof and cracks developed at many points, turning the schoolhouse risky. The recent high-powered quake caused collapse of a portion of the building, making it totally unfit for using for classes, the headmaster added. Two months ago, the school managing committee decided to hold classes under the open sky till reconstruction of a new house. "We cannot attend to our lessons properly as classes are held in the open space. Nobody dares to stay inside the schoolhouse that may collapse any time," said Nurina Akhter Jahan, a student of class five. "Every year a good number of students come out successful from this school, but the kids' study is being badly disturbed due to the present situation. A new building is very much for the students," said Ansar Ali Mondal, president of the school managing committee. "The higher authorities have already been informed of the matter for allocation of fund for construction of a new building. The managing committee has been asked to take immediate alternative arrangement for a temporary shelter for the students until construction of a new schoolhouse," said AKM Tawfiqur Rahman, Sadullapur upazila education officer.
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