Paradip, March 27: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's decision to introduce the "odd-even" formula in private transport garnered a lot of attention - some were positive, others not so much. But long before Kejriwal tried to impose the rule within his territory, the school and mass education department had already begun experimenting with the formula to cope with the shortage of classrooms, exposing the deficiencies in the government's primary education network.

The department adopted the formula in primary schools in Paradip to cope with space constraints for classroom teaching.

The system has been in vogue in the district since 2008. Children attend classes in shifts as there is a dearth of space in government schools in the port township.

"Several schools practise this system of teaching in which, the students attend classes in two shifts - morning and day. With the limited available space in schools, it's not possible to accommodate all students from classes I to VIII. So, this was the only option left for us," said a school and mass education department official.

The government-run Nolia Sahi Project Upper Primary School is a case in point. The school has over 200 students from classes I to VIII on its rolls. Children up to Class V attend from 6.30am to 10am. Students of higher classes turn up at 10.30am and leave at 4pm.

"We are forced to carry on shift-wise teaching because of space constraint. The full-fledged school building is yet to be constructed. This was the only alterative before us for unhindered classroom teaching. Our school has nine teachers, but there is shortage of classrooms to accommodate them," Nolia Sahi school headmaster Tapan Kumar Bindhani said.

Primary educational institutes continue to run in makeshift sheds even though the school and mass education department is flush with funds for school building projects.

Classes are held in rented houses, temples and polythene sheds as the government-run primary education system has become the latest victim of the tussle between the state and Paradip port, claimed sources.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan district project co-ordinator Swapan Kumar Jena said: "Once the school buildings are constructed, this problem of shift-wise classroom teaching would be sorted out. The department has sufficient funds for building projects. The buildings could not be constructed over the years due to land-related issues. The land is owned by Paradip port. We have requested the port to allot the land and they have agreed."