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Dilapidated Govt Pry School Buildings in Barisal

60,000 students at risk

SUSHANTO GHOSH, Barisal
At least 60,000 students are taking classes at 189 government primary schools out of the total 1,513 in Barisal district putting themselves at the risk of accidents any moment due to the poor condition of the buildings.
These dilapidated structures mostly built during the last two decades have been in such conditions for around six years. But the Directorate of Primary Education, Barisal declared the buildings risky only this May.
Locals alleged that low quality construction materials caused the early dilapidation.
Towhidul Islam, the district primary education officer, said repair works started at 143 of the 189 schools in 1982. Under different projects, the Education Engineering Department first took the
responsibility and later handed the work over to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in 1994, he said.
Now, the LGED is continuing the work under the three-year "Primary Education Development Project", which will end in June next year, he added.
Around 40 percent to 60 percent of the work is completed and the rest is expected to be finished within the stipulated time, said Towhidul.
In the meantime, because of accommodation crises, the students are compelled to attend classes in a number of vulnerable school buildings. This correspondent observed the conditions in recent visits to some schools in and outside the city.
On November 15, four students of the city's Kawnia Government Municipal Primary School were injured when a chunk of plaster from the ceiling fell on them.
Fearing further accidents, "the students have been reluctant to attend classes," said Baby Haidar, headmistress of the school founded in 1994.
Rifat, a class III student, said, "Nobody wants to get admitted to the school."
"I want to leave this school," declared Shanta, a fourth grader, of the institution where 400 students study.
Similar conditions were seen at Mahishadi Government Primary School established in 2002 in Wazirpur upazila and Chouhutpur Government Primary School (1994) and Somraji Tungibaria Government Primary School (1993) in the sadar upazila.
A fourth grader, Rahima, of Barisal Government Polytechnic Primary School in the city, said, "Due to fears, many students have already left the school."
Acknowledging the facts, Towhidul Islam said most of the schools had no alternative accommodation facilities.
Abul Bashar Majumder, an executive engineer of the Education Engineering Department, said the contractors might have used substandard materials.
Asked why Mahishadi school building became so worn out within only 12 years, Ratan Sharif, its contractor, said it was a result of a lack of maintenance. He denied that substandardconstruction materials were used.
Another contractor, Hanif Mia, who built Kawnia school, gave a similar response.