A Sanskrit school that once took pride for producing vice-chancellors doesn't have a single student at present though one teacher comes and goes everyday. Government Sanskrit High School, Munger, which was once considered a renowned seat of Sanskrit learning, lies in a shambles.

The education department is spending around Rs 50,000 a month on the school that does not have a student for the past five years. The last session was conducted in 2009 for classes VII to X.

Moreover, the school, which specialises in teaching Sanskrit, has only one teacher, Mohammed Shakeel Ahmed, who doubles as the acting headmaster, and a clerk, Manish Kumar.

Both come to the school sharp at 9.30am, unlock the main gate, sit till 4pm and go home locking the main door of the school.

They do this everyday barring government holidays and offs.

The Rs 50,000 a month goes into paying the salaries of the two employees, who virtually do nothing, only because there are no students.

Citing reasons for the dearth of students, Ahmed said: 'Earlier, the passouts of Sanskrit schools used to get reservation in BEd courses, which was as an attraction because such a degree opened up avenues to get a teacher's job. But now, this reservation has been shelved. So, no one is interested in pursuing a course from the school.'

He added that lack of teachers and poor infrastructure were two other factors, which were working as deterrents for the students.

The acting headmaster, however, refused to answer a query whether he knew Sanskrit or not. 'I won't answer that,' he quipped with anger writ large on his face.

According to official records, there are seven sanctioned posts of Sanskrit teachers for the school. In the past two decades, most of the teachers have retired and fresh appointments have not been conducted for the institution.

Ahmed said students admitted here were taught Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit grammar, astrology, Vedas and philosophy.

The school was established in 1866 as Rani Saraswati Sanatan Dharma Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Munger. It was taken over by the government in 1954 and renamed Government Sanskrit High School.

Recalling its past glory, Chand Raj, a retired Sanskrit teacher, who was a student of the school between 1958 and 1962, said: 'The institution was one of the best Sanskrit schools in the country. Every student of the school was provided a scholarship of Rs 150 during my time. The products of the school - Chandra Kant Shukla and Krityanand Pracheta - became vice-chancellors of Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University, Darbhanga.'

On the plight of the school, district education officer K.K. Sharma said: 'I will visit the school soon to look into the issues and try to address its problems.'

Education department officials in Patna, on the other hand, refused to speak on the issue. After listening to questions regarding the problems faced by the school, director, secondary education, R.B. Choudhary hung up the phone.