School with 295 pupils operating from a room in Jakhal town of Fatehabad district

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, February 22

A government primary school in Jakhal town of Fatehabad district with 295 students and staff of nine teachers is operating from a single room.

4 rooms declared unsafe

• While four rooms located in the school complex at the Railway colony in Jakhal town have been declared condemned and unsafe, the school staff is utilising one room and the verandah for holding classes.

While four rooms located in the school complex at the Railway colony in Jakhal town have been declared condemned and unsafe, the school staff is utilising one room and the verandah for holding classes.

According to information, the school was set up in 1959 with four rooms. Later, two more rooms were added in the building in 2004. However, the old school building has been in a dilapidated condition and, thus, unsafe for the students to sit in.

The school authorities had written to the Education department and the Public Works (Buildings and Roads) Department and even raised the issue with the Development and Panchayat Minister Devender Singh Babli, who is MLA from the Tohana Assembly segment in the district.

Murari Sharma, a teacher who is also the district president of the Prathmik Adhyapak Sangh, said they had five classes from class I to V having a strength of 295 students. “We have the full strength of teachers as well. But the teachers have to take class in the verandah as we have only one room left for us in the school,” he said, adding that out of the two newly constructed rooms, one room had been allotted to the anangwari centre of the town.

“We have urged the district authorities to allow us to shift to another government building adjacent to the school which has adequate rooms and sufficient space. But we have not been given permission so far,” he said.

A PWD official said there is a procedure to dismantle the condemned building. We have floated tenders for dismantling the building thrice but got poor response.