50 students vie for space in two crammed classrooms

BERHAMPUR: Despite substantial funds earmarked for school transformation project during the previous government, many schools in Gajapati district are struggling due to lack of classroom facilities.

The Government Upper Primary School in Sribishnupur, located in K.Sitapur Panchayat, Kasinagar block is a case in point. Established in 1975 in the tribal-dominated village, the school serves around 50 students from Sribishnupur and five nearby villages.

However, with only two classrooms for classes one through eight and four teachers managing the school, students are often forced to study in the verandah or under trees.

Recent rains have made the situation bad leading to partial suspension of classes due to the inability to accommodate all students in the limited space.

Teachers said they face difficulties in teaching multiple classes simultaneously within the two rooms. With rain forecasted to continue for the next four days, it is uncertain when classes will fully resume.

Sitapur saarpanch K. Tejeswar Rao alleged funds allocated for constructing additional classrooms were diverted to other institutions. Despite several written complaints to the block administration, education authorities, and the district collector, no action has been taken. Frustrated by the lack of response, Tejeswar has threatened to launch agitation.

The situation at UP School in Kharsandha village under Gosani block is no better. With only two classrooms for over 88 students, construction of two additional classrooms was initiated earlier this year with Rs 10 lakh and Rs 8 lakh allocated under the Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha scheme.