Around 196 students of a primary school in Vadodara are studying from makeshift classrooms, one of whom has been walking under the metallic shadow of an overgrown graveyard since the start of the physical session in August last year.
Of the eight batches of Canada Primary School in Dabhoi taluka, two have found space in the graveyard located behind the gram panchayat office and milk collection centre, along with a madrasa located a few meters away, as classrooms to accommodate six others. I have doubled. classes.
Right in front of the cemetery is a primary school that was demolished in September 2020 due to a “dangerous dilapidated structure”.
On Friday, villagers submitted a memorandum to the taluka education officer to expedite the construction of the primary school building, saying they had “locked down” four temporary arrangements as the administration lacked “urgency”. resolve the issue.
A total of 196 children in classes I to VIII attend school in Kaneda Village, a mixed neighborhood of about 2,000 people. While 18 children of classes one and two study under metal shade in the high graveyard of the village, 32 children of class three and 30 of class four take classes at the milk collection centre.
Similarly, 25 children of class five and 27 of class six are taught at the gram panchayat office, while 24 children of class seven and 22 of class eight study from the premises of a local madrasa.
“We have only divided the classes into places according to the grade. All the children should attend their respective classes. Education is more important than other issues. On the ground, together we are trying to find the best solution for the future of our children,” said local resident Munir Pathan.
When Indian Express After visiting the village on Friday, the villagers had gathered to discuss the issue after the closure of the premises, while six teachers sat near the milk collection center to distribute lessons to the children to study at home. He also submitted a memorandum to the Taluka Education Officer to expedite the construction of the primary school.
“We had no option but to think about the alternatives as the reconstruction work of the school has not even started. The physical classes started in July-August last year and as soon as the classes were added in phases, we decided to allot space. However, in the end, the youngest had to be accommodated in the graveyard as there is shadow,” Sarpanch Naginbhai Rathodia told this newspaper.
In their memorandum on Friday signed by Rathodia, the villagers said, “The dilapidated building of the primary school in the village was demolished without establishing any alternate location from where the students could attend physical classes… However, since we had to There is no urgency in this. To overcome this problem by rebuilding the school structure on behalf of the administration, we have decided to close all the four campuses for school use from January 3.
The villagers further argued that the administration had not started work on the building despite the funds being sanctioned. “We have been told that Rs 55 lakh has already been sanctioned for the construction of six classrooms in the school premises. However, we request the administration to look into the issue and ensure that eight classrooms are created to ensure that all classrooms have separate classrooms.
Ashwin Patel, president of Vadodara Zilla Panchayat Education Committee, said that the reason for the delay in the reconstruction of the school building is the lack of interest among the contractors for the construction of the building. “A tender had already been floated by the Zilla Panchayat after getting approval from the education department for the construction of the building last year. The project estimate for six classes was Rs 55 lakh, but not a single bid was received when the tender was floated. After this, we increased the project cost by Rs 17 lakh and the panchayat approved Rs 72 lakh for the construction of eight classrooms. New tenders will be floated soon. We are expecting some of the bidders to come forward and take up the project.
In the interim, he said, a grant of Rs 70,000 has been sanctioned to the panchayat to repair a community hall in the village, which can be used to accommodate 36 children who are currently studying from the premises of a graveyard . “We have already had a word with the panchayat and asked them to immediately repair a community hall which is dilapidated at the moment. It will take them about a week to complete the floor work and repair of windows in that old community hall… the milk collection officer, panchayat office and madrasa can carry on remaining classes as per the present arrangement,” Patel elaborated. . Gram Panchayat elections are to be held in the village this year.
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