Burdwan, March 13: A section of students of two government-aided schools in Burdwan has been attending classes in the open because of dismal condition of the buildings.
While the classrooms of Vidyasagar Memorial Junior High School in Memari have been lying in disrepair for long, the building of Saranga High School in Khandaghosh, which was renovated almost a decade ago, developed cracks during an earthquake in 2015.
The Burdwan district inspector of schools said he had sent applications to the education department and was waiting for funds.
In the Saranga school, four rooms earmarked for students of Classes V and VI developed multiple cracks on the walls and ceilings following the quake in April 2015. Since then, around 120 students have been attending classes under a tree.
The authorities said they had sent repeated requests to the district inspector of schools (secondary) and the local block development officer urging immediate repair of the classrooms, but to no avail.
"Four months ago, the local BDO got the veranda demolished. A portion of it was hanging dangerously and could have collapsed any time. We need to construct a new veranda to access the four classrooms, which developed cracks and became unusable after the quake," said Munsi Sirajul Islam, the teacher in charge of Saranga High School.
Islam said the situation turned worse for the 120 students during the monsoon, when rain prevents them from sitting in the open. The 120 children are then forced to crowd the remaining rooms and sit on the floor.
The situation is no better during the summers, when the sun is blazing hot in Burdwan.
"It feels very hot during the summers. Most of us avoid coming to school on those days," said Shantanu Rakshit of Class VI.
Around 870 students study in the Saranga school, which has a two-storied building.
Khandaghosh BDO Shantanu Das, who had inspected the school building after it developed the cracks, said: "I decided to demolish the first-floor veranda, a portion of which was hanging dangerously. It could have caused an accident any time. I also sent a report to the DM and the inspector of schools for necessary action," Das said.
The authorities of Vidyasagar Memorial Junior High School in Memari decided to abandon the classrooms after a small portion of a ceiling of one of the rooms collapsed last month, injuring a Class VII boy.
Altogether seven classrooms are in much need of repair, prompting the 350 students of Classes V to VIII to study in the open.
"The classrooms need to be repaired. All of them have developed cracks and the ceilings might collapse anytime. We don't want any untoward incident and have decided to take the classes in the open. I have also informed the district inspector of schools," said Asish Ghosh Dastidar, the secretary of the school managing committee.
The decision to take classes in the open was also prompted by a protest by a section of guardians who refused to send their children to the school unless the rooms were repaired.
The Burdwan inspector of schools (secondary), Khagendra Nath Roy, said he had received applications from around 250 schools asking for repairs.
"We have received applications from schools all across the district seeking renovation. We have sent all the applications to the higher authorities and are waiting for the funds," he said.
