SIRAHA, Dec 7: Unlike students in other schools, the students of Dhansawar Primary School of Siraha district bring a broom with them to school. The day they forget to bring one from home, they are provided with the school’s broom and the teachers monitor the cleaning of the classrooms, offices and the school ground. This has been the plight of the students for an unknown period of time.
The helpless students’ troubles only to light when an official monitoring team, comprising Chief District Officer (CDO) and District Education Officer (DEO), found the students engaged in sweeping their classrooms during their inspection.[break]
“Finding us there, the peon immediately took all the sweeps and escorted the students in their classes,” said CDO Dhurba Prashad Dhakal.
Photos: Republica
Dhurba Prashad Dhakal, Chief District Officer of Siraha with the students of Dhansawar Primary School during the inspection of the school premises.
The students started opening up about their troubles themselves. Manjula Kumar Mandal of grade three shared that their school days go to waste every day in sweeping their classroom and school ground. “This is not a school but a torture house for all of us,” said Mandal.
“At 10 in the morning, we start sweeping from the school office and move towards the ground. By the time we complete cleaning the school ground, we hear the lunch hour bell ringing like every other day,” said Ranjita Kumari Shah, a class five student.
Puja Kumari Mandal, another student of grade three says that she has been often been staying back home after the lunch break. Manjula says that sweeping the school makes her tired and sick. Other students also recount how they fall sick due to the dust and have to stay back home, but it’s the same routine once they are well enough to go back to school. Many of them have already left the school.
“The regular students of the school rarely come to class fearing the torture. Before any monitoring arrives at the school, the headmaster brings students from other private schools to fill in the quorum,” said Bishwanath Yadab, a local.
“This is not a school. Classes are never run regularly here. Because of this situation, we have been obliged to take our children to private schools where expenses are very high,” said another local, Jhauli Roy.
The school has also not been providing the students lunch, even after the implementation of the lunch program. Runu Mandal, a class four student, says, “We have not been given lunch even once.” She adds, “There has been no scholarships, no books. One teacher, Selo Yadav, always makes us write the alphabets. We never learn anything else.”
Students complained that all the students from grade one to five are given classes in a single room and the teachers are always wandering elsewhere during the class hours.
According to an officer of the monitoring team, the principal of the school has been taking government facilities for 242 students when there are only 24 students there.
“We will take charge against the principal, Shiva Narayan Mandal, who has been pocketing all the government money and the student facility funds, but staying at home,” said the officer.
The officer informed that Mandal has embezzled Rs 17,424 from the lunch program that should have been in operation and more from the student books and scholarships allocated money.
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