The primary school at Indrapuri in Patna. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, May 3: The room is small but the teacher still has to shout to make herself heard, as there are too many students in the class.

Welcome to Prathmik Vidyalaya, Indrapuri, that started off as an ambitious project under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The project today has become another example of professional inefficiency on part of the authorities.

Even though the school has been functioning for the past 11 years, it is yet to get its own land. It has, therefore, been forced to work from a temporary shed.

“The temporary location kept changing till the water resources department allowed us to run the school from this spare piece of land,” said Bethika Debnath, the principal of the school.

“In spite of several appeals to the higher authorities in the past 11 years, we have been forced to run the school amidst such inconveniences. Every year, we fill the requirement in the data sheets provided to us but no action is taken,” added the principal.

According to the norms of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, every school under this programme should have a proper building along with a veranda. But this school is running in a hut that does not even have a washroom though a large number of the students are girls. “We have to rush to our homes nearby to answer the nature’s calls. A lot of time is wasted this way. It becomes very difficult for us without toilets,” said Rakhi, a Class V student of the school.

The school does not have a power connection either. As a result, it becomes difficult for students and teachers to continue with the classes in the scorching summer months. Winters are equally unbearable. There are 300 students but only three teachers, including the principal.

“Whenever a teacher is absent, it becomes very difficult to manage the classes. We require at least seven teachers in this school, going by the teacher-student ratio norm of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,” said the principal.

Agreeing to the infrastructure problems being faced by the schools running under the programme, Rajesh Bhushan, project director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, said: “We are aware of the problems being faced by many such schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the Patna region. Many of the schools are running from libraries, mosques and temples because of this scarcity of lands. The government is trying to acquire Khasmahal land for this purpose.”