Crumbling Infrastructure Threatens Education at Government High School in Jagatsinghpur
Challenges Faced by Government High School, Ganailo
By Rajendra Narayan Singh
Raghunathpur: Despite numerous government efforts aimed at enhancing educational standards, the Government High School in Ganailo, located in the Raghunathpur block of Jagatsinghpur district, is still facing significant challenges. The school's infrastructure is deteriorating, with leaking roofs in classrooms, insufficient space, and a lack of basic facilities, which jeopardizes the safety of both students and teachers and disrupts learning.
Founded in 1958, the school is in a state of disrepair, with rainwater seeping into several classrooms due to a lack of maintenance, which interrupts lessons. The shortage of space has forced teachers to work in a multipurpose cyclone shelter deemed unsafe.
Additionally, sports equipment is stored in this shelter, raising concerns about potential hazards if the structure were to collapse. Once serving over 300 students from ten to twelve nearby panchayats, the school now accommodates only 203 students, ranging from kindergarten to Class X.
However, it suffers from a lack of sufficient classrooms, toilets, and safe drinking water. With only eight classrooms available, students from different grades are often combined into one room. The teaching process has also been hampered by a shortage of teachers. Many older buildings on the campus are no longer suitable for classes, yet no alternative solutions have been provided. Parents have expressed concerns that such unsafe and inadequate conditions could negatively impact their children's mental and intellectual growth.
Pramod Kumar Das, president of the School Management Committee, stated that no alternative measures have been implemented despite the worsening state of the buildings. Recently, a 30-foot section of the school's front boundary wall collapsed due to heavy rain and strong winds caused by a low-pressure system. Local parents, including Pankaj Das, Somanath Ray, Dipti Ranjan Biswal, and Subrat Mallik, claimed that poor construction quality led to the wall's failure, noting it was built only four years ago.
The rain also causes the school grounds to become waterlogged and muddy, complicating movement for students. Acting headmistress Banalakshmi Patra confirmed the lack of adequate classrooms and toilets. She acknowledged that teachers are utilizing an unsafe building due to space constraints, and sports equipment is also stored there. Patra mentioned that the dilapidated cyclone shelter would be entirely closed off to prevent accidents.
Three years prior, two classrooms, a science lab, and an e-library were constructed at a cost of Rs 45 lakh under the state government's 5T initiative. The school also received Rs 5 lakh from the State Finance Commission and Rs 3 lakh from the state government for toilet construction. Currently, a new building is being erected at a cost of Rs 19 lakh, according to Patra.
Das and local villagers have appealed to the District Collector to address the leaking roofs, construct additional classrooms and toilets, and rebuild the damaged boundary wall. Block Education Officer Chinmaya Rout, who recently assumed his position, stated that he would investigate the complaints and report the findings to higher authorities.