Three years to complete 100, Odisha school battles neglect

BERHAMPUR: At first glance, the Upper Primary school at Karabalua village in Chikiti block of Ganjam district seems like an abandoned building surrounded by heaps of garbage and undergrowth. Far from the radar of the state government’s transformation of schools under 5T initiative, the institution is a perfect example of apathy.

Karabalua School, established in 1926, will celebrate its centenary three years from now. But with 263 students (from Class I to VIII) in its rolls including 131 girls and seven differently-abled, the school does not even have an approach road. The school has eight classrooms and two toilets which are shared by both girls and boys.

The heaps of garbage around the school raise a stink in the institution and a tubewell on the premises has gone defunct for the last five years. The Public Health Department water pipeline to the school, installed in January, serves the purpose of cooking mid-day meals and drinking and washing of utensils. The only saving grace for the school is,  it has 10 teachers for the eight classes.

Headmaster Narasingha Padhu said the higher authorities were apprised of the school’s plight several times but nothing yielded a result. Block education officer Basant Panda said construction and repairs of the school are looked after by Chikiti block officials and they have been informed about its present state. While no officials of block and NAC were available for comments, the parents of the children enrolled in the school expressed their dismay over the negligence towards the institution by the administration and elected representatives over the years.