BERHAMPUR: Low enrolment in schools has always been a concern for the State Government. However, it is not an issue at the Golabandha UP School in Rangeilunda block. The institution has 327 students on its rolls. However, only 6-10 of them attend classes daily.
Headmaster Bijay Kumar Behera said since the new building of the school is located 3 km from Golabandha village, few parents send their wards to the institution. The nine teachers, posted at the school, often sit idle as classes are seldom held.
Even mid-day meals are no longer being served to the handful of students who attend classes regularly.
The school was shifted to the new building on November 15 last year. Around 80 students attended the school on the day the building was inaugurated. However, attendance nose-dived from day two onwards, said Behera.
Sources said the district administration had decided to shift the village to a location near the school. As many as 1,008 houses are being constructed under Odisha Disaster Recovery Project (ODRP) at the site. Even as 50 per cent of the houses have already been constructed, the villagers are unwilling to shift. They said the new site lacks basic amenities.
Member of the School Management Committee K Babaji said the district administration did not consult the committee before shifting the school to the new location. He said the school is now located at a place surrounded by forest. Parents are wary of the safety of their children and do not want them to walk 3 km to reach the school. Babaji said the committee had urged the Collector and Block Education Officer (BEO) to let the school function from its old location till the villagers are shifted to the new site.
However, Rangeilunda BEO Pravati Mohapatra said the school was shifted as per the orders of the Collector. He said discussions were held with the villagers to convince them to send their children to the school.