Students become restless as clouds gather. When it starts raining, some move benches to save books and notebooks, while others rush to the teachers' rooms.
The tin roof of the roof leaks and water falls into the classrooms, and since there are no windows and doors, books and notebooks get wet in the rain. When a storm hits, the whole house shakes.
At least 12 secondary schools in Narail are teaching in risky buildings.
Among the school buildings at risk, Debipur Secondary School in Tularampur Union of Narail Sadar Upazila and Maliat Secondary School in Shekhhati Union are in the most critical condition, said the district education officer.
On Tuesday (June 30) afternoon, when I visited Debipur Secondary School in Tularampur Union of Sadar Upazila, I saw that educational activities were being conducted in a semi-paka tin shed. As soon as we enter the house, we see large holes in the roof. The sky is visible from there. The sun shines directly into the classroom at noon.
The roof of the house is shaking in the light wind. Some students are repeatedly looking at the roof above their heads. There are large cracks in many places on the walls of the semi-paca building.
We spoke to some students. A student of class eight named Seema Biswas says, "When the clouds come, we tremble with fear.
Since there are no windows or doors in the classroom, books and notebooks get wet in the rain. Since there are large holes in the roof, rainwater collects on the floor of the house. We run to the sir's office and take shelter. On days when it rains, there is no more study."
Saurabh Aadhya, a student of Malia Secondary School in Sadar Upazila, says, "Our friends study in good schools. Seeing this, we feel sad. Since the city is far away, our parents admitted us to the village school. Our studies in the house with a tin roof stop due to a little rain. We want our school to have a beautiful building."
According to the District Secondary Education Office, there are 131 secondary and lower secondary schools in the district. 64 in Sadar Upazila, 36 in Lohagara and 31 in Kalia Upazila. Of these, 12 secondary and lower secondary schools are running in risky buildings as they do not have new buildings.
The schools running in risky buildings are CRM Secondary School in Bichali Union of Sadar Upazila, Muldair Taltola Secondary Girls' School in Auria Union, Baliadanga Lower Secondary School in Banshgram Union, Debipur Secondary School in Tularampur Union, Sheikhhati Lower Secondary Girls' School in Sheikhhati Union and Maliat Secondary School and Debbhog Lower Secondary School in the same union; BRD Adarsh Secondary School in the municipal area; Mauli Panchapalli Secondary School in Mauli Union of Kalia Upazila, Noagram Lower Secondary School in Purulia Union, Madhumoti Lower Secondary School in Pahardanga Union School and Jainul Abed Nurunnahar Lower Secondary School of Panchgram Union.
Sukanta Biswas of Devipur village of Tularampur union said, ‘In 1995, local residents established the school in Devipur village to spread education in the area. This building, built with their own funds, has not been renovated. Teaching is being conducted in an old tin shed. Books and notebooks get wet in a little rain. When there is a storm, the tin roof shakes. There are big holes in places. We send boys and girls to school in fear.’
Basudeb Chandra Sen, headmaster of Devipur Secondary School, said, ‘When the storm starts, books and notebooks get wet. Students run to the office. Despite their desire, teachers cannot teach properly. On the other hand, students do not want to come to school due to the lack of a building. Several applications have been made to the concerned departments and public representatives for a new building. However, no results have been received yet.’
Narail District Education Officer claims that a list of risky institutions in the district has been prepared and sent to the concerned ministry. Jamal Uddin said, there are 131 secondary and higher secondary schools in the district. Of these, 12 schools are teaching in risky buildings. We have prepared a list of these schools and sent it to the concerned ministry. We hope that these institutions will have new buildings in phases.
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