A decade-old Debatola Primary School in Bampharda gram panchayat under Barkote block of the district was started with everything that a school should have.
Unlike many other schools in the panchayat, it has a gate with name of the school written on it at the entrance, three classrooms, an office, a boundary wall, a map of Odisha painted on a board along with a notice board and tribal paintings on pillars which have become a trademark in all the government schools.
But the infrastructure of the school and standard of education deteriorated recently due to lack of attention of the authorities concerned. The asbestos roof of its classrooms was blown away by gale that struck the district in March. Since then, students have been studying in the roofless classrooms. In case of rain, all 37 students including 16 girls enrolled in Class I to V are huddled in one room.
Ironically, this has not come to the notice of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) authorities who sanction funds for construction of additional classrooms besides repair and maintenance works. Besides infrastructure issues, the school lacks regular teachers. There is just one Gana Sikhyak who looks after all the five classes and oversees preparation of mid-day meals.
President of the school managing committee Jhara Mahakul said they had informed the SSA authorities about the plight of the school to no avail.
Even as Deogarh Sub-Collector Bhakta Bandhu Pradhan, who is also in charge as District Project Coordinator of SSA, feigned ignorance about condition of the school. However, he said necessary steps would be taken soon.