Paradip, Aug. 14: The want to study, but do not have a proper school building.

A large number of children, their parents and guardians demonstrated outside the Paradip Port Trust office demanding the construction of their school buildings.

At least eight government schools here run without permanent buildings, said Ram Shankar Rout, a guardian.

"My ward is studying at Gholpada Primary School, which runs from a thatched house. Classroom teaching gets affected in the rainyseason," said another parent, Radhakant Maity.

Primary schools are now running from rented houses, temples and under polythene covers with the government-run primary education system becoming the latest victim of the ongoing tussle between the state government and Paradip port authorities.

"Within the Paradip Municipality's jurisdiction, there are 14 government-run primary schools. While eight of them located within the planned civil township have permanent buildings, the remaining do not have buildings of their own," said district project coordinator of the Centre-run Sarva Sikhya Abhiyana Sapan Kumar Jena.

"This situation has arisen because there is no land to build schools. The department is ready with funds," said Jena.

The district administration has taken up the matter with Paradip Port Trust authorities. "We are hopeful that the port would allot land for school building projects shortly," he said.

Around Rs 50 lakh sanctioned for construction of school buildings in the port township is lying idle.

"The slum colonies where the schools are in operation are all unauthorised settlements. Paradip Port Trust has planned to evict the squatters from the port's land. Under the major ports acts, no land can be allocated to the state government for school buildings on encroached land," said a port official.