ROURKELA: Sixty-four students are packed like sardines inside the lone classroom measuring 100 square feet (sq ft) in the Gopabandhu Nagar Government Primary School here. Worse, while this classroom is built over a drain culvert, the school’s office building - also used as a store room - functions from an abandoned pump house in just 80 sq ft of area. In the absence of a building of its own, the structure hardly resembles a school. Besides the classroom, students are huddled in the verandah space. Sources said when the State Government declared creation of the school, it was decided that it would function from Class-I to III from July 21, 2003 at the Chhend market complex. In October 2004, the school was removed from the area following an eviction drive of the Rourkela Development Authority (RDA). Since then the school has been functioning from a small pump house of the RDA and another space was carved out on the adjacent drain culvert as the school was upgraded to Class-V. Even as funds for construction of a permanent school building were allotted, the amount is lying unutilised in the absence of land. The school has just two teachers including headmistress Kumudini Jena. “The school is entitled to all government benefits, but due to lack of its own building it is increasingly becoming difficult to teach 64 students of five classes together,” said Jena. Chhend councillor and school management committee member George Anand said all the students are from labour class families and as per provision, the school must be located in a radius of one kilometre. He added that they have been sending reminders for land, but in vain. Sundargarh Collector Rupa Roshan Sahu said the issue would be taken up with the Mass Education Department for a final settlement and if needed, students would be admitted to nearby schools till a permanent solution is found.
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