This government school in Bihar assembles under a tree

Rajkiya Ucha Madhya Vidyalaya Jamuniya Nawka Tola, an Alma Mater of roughly 350 students in Nautan block of West Champaran district, is a school that seems to be virtually frozen in time with classes being conducted under trees.

“Our school may well appear to be functioning in an anachronistic manner. This is because we have no other way despite several written requests and verbal assurances exchanged between us and the education department, infrastructure for school has remained chimerical. The existing infrastructure is in a dilapidated state and no steps are being taken at all to improve the condition, “said Manoj Kumar, headmaster of Rajkiya Ucha Madhya Vidyalaya.

Worse, established in 1973, the school which holds classes up to standard VIII with a total of 345 students, has only two classrooms. Marred by vagaries of time and poor maintenance, the ceiling and walls of the classrooms are cracked and the plaster has peeled off from the ceiling at some places.

HT spent over two hours in the school where it was shocking to see children, especially from standard I to V, braving the cold wave and the plaster of one of the ceilings in the two classrooms hanging precariously even as the classes were underway.

“The manner in which this school has been a victim of neglect owing to the dilapidated structure, the possibility of a mishap cannot be ruled out,” said a teacher, who refused to be identified.

HT also came across five blackboards hung against the school’s boundary walls with hundreds of students sitting in rows. Teachers admit that the absence of adequate infrastructure, coupled with a surge in the number of students, has been taking a toll on the academic work.

“We have no other option but to suspend classes during the monsoon season . Moreover, it also gets tough during extreme weather conditions,” said Pramod Prasad, an assistant teacher.

“Will our lot improve?”, this is the question asked by the students here.

“Garmi me garmi lagati hai, aur thanda me thanda hawa pareshan karta hai yaha. (We are troubled by heat and cold waves badly), “ said Ravi Kumar, a standard III student.

Again woes of students of standard VI to VIII, whose classes are held in the school building and in the teachers’ meeting hall, are too glaring to be glossed over.

“A few hours after the rain, water begins to drop profusely from the ceiling and things become unmanageable as all students have to take shelter in a small place near the headmaster’s office,” said Arti Kumari, Pradhan Mantri of Bal Sansad (student cabinet of the school).

“ Sir, how long will have to grapple with the secondary problems which hinder our academics,” said Ranjeet Kumar, education minister of Bal Sansad, who mistook the HT correspondent for a government official.

Despite all efforts to contact, district education officer Harendra Jha refused to respond to calls or messages. However, block education officer Ashok Kumar said the construction work would be undertaken once the fund for the same was sanctioned by the state government.

Rajkiya Ucha Madhya Vidalaya isn’t one of its kind. Of the 2,724 government schools in West Champaran, that include 1,640 primary schools, 759 middle schools, 218 high schools, 95 madarsas, and 12 sanskrit schools, 161 academic institutions are bereft of their own building.

“A report on the status of the building was sent to the state government in 2018. But, we are yet to get any positive response. Meanwhile, there are some schools that have been allotted their own buildings,” said an official associated with the education department, refusing to be identified.

However, the relocation of schools in this process has impacted the students. According to Santosh Kumar Sharma, cluster resource centre coordinator (CRCC), Valmikinagar, two primary school at Luv Kush Ghat, Charghayiya, primary schools at Bisha and Utkramit Madhya Vidhalaya at Rampurwa were shifted to schools having buildings. “But, distance became a factor for students to attend the classes regularly,” said Sharma.

“ Sir, how long will have to grapple with the secondary problems which hinder our academic work. Please see to it that we fight with our primary problem like study and our mental growth,” said Ranjeet Kumar, education minister of Bal Sansad, who mistook this correspondent as government official.

Academic institutions status (West Champaran):

* No. of schools without buildings: 161

* Total of government schools: 2724

* No. of primary schools: 1640

* No. of middle schools: 759

* No. of high schools: 218

* No. of madarsa: 95

* No. of Sanskrit vidhalaya: 12

* No of teachers: 13005