Patna, March 21: Once a residential school for Sanskrit scholars, Hathua Raj Gyanodaya Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya at Mandiri has now become a cowshed. Reason: Absence of maintenance because of lack of funds and rampant encroachment.

The school, which once had hundreds of students, has also been abandoned by its pupils, who prefer courses that can help them get a job. Career opportunities for Sanskrit students have narrowed down drastically in recent times.

A source said a Sanskrit graduate can either be school or university teachers. But as the number of such posts has gone down, the situation has become grim. Civil service aspirants can take Sanskrit as an optional subject, and it is helpful for them as the competition is less. But even the number of such students had gone down over the years.

In such a scenario, the future of the school looks bleak, added the source.

“The school has not been maintained because of lack of funds. Illegal encroachments have added to its problems,” said Girish Mishra, the headmaster of the school.

The three corridors around the school building have been turned into cowsheds. The entrance has been turned into a motor garage by a neighbou-ring automobile workshop. “It is disheartening to see the ill-fate of the oldest Sanskrit institution in Patna,” said Mishra.

Hathua Raj, a local zamindar from Gopalganj, established the school in 1928. After its inception, the erstwhile Sanskrit Association of Patna administered the educational institution. More than 200 students attended the school. The students and the teachers used to reside on the campus, in seven rooms allotted for the hostel. They were provided food and clothes. Students were admitted in the prathama (Class I) and continued till acharya (postgraduation).

“After the establishment of Sanskrit Shiksha Board in 1982, the school was disallowed to confer acharya degrees. The highest class at the school was shashtri, that corresponds to a graduate degree. But six years ago, even that was abolished. Now, the students who pass out of the school are given an upshastri degree by the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga University. This is equivalent to Class XII,” said Ram Sajivan Jha, the grammar teacher at the school.

“The school has a property of around 1.25 acres. But it has been encroached. The school authorities are often threatened by hooligans who carry out illegal activities even on the school premises,” said Murli Dhar, a non-teaching employee of the school.

He added: “We have complained a number of times to the police. But apart from visiting the school, they have done nothing.”

Jha said Sanskrit is not only a very scientific language, scientists at Nasa have also identified it to be most suitable to be used as a computer language because of its near-perfect syllable structure.

Contrary to popular belief, the school also teaches other subjects such as social and pure sciences, philosophy and other languages. But these are optional.

Mishra added: “As teachers for the optional subjects have not been appointed, the students are not being taught these at present.”

Of the total posts of eight teachers, only four have been filled.

Only one non-teaching employee has been appo inted against the sanct ioned strength of three, the souce said.