Classes hampered as school abandoned for 18 months
The education of 165 children of Darihamidpur Government Primary School in Jamalpur's Sadar upazila has been hampered for around one and a half years due to an accommodation crisis and the short period of classes.
The institution established in 1930 and nationalised in 1973, benefited from a three-room concrete structure in 1994, which was subsequently declared abandoned 20 years later, sources said.
The school authority, finding no alternative, started conducting classes from 7:00am to 11:00am in two shifts at nearby Hanif Uddin High School after the lone school building of the primary school was declared abandoned on September 17, 2014.
Due to this situation, three classes from pre-primary to Class II are being held at the high school in one shift from 7:00am to 8:30am, and the students of each class receive lessons for only one and a half hours for four subjects, whereas the normal timing is from 9:30am to 12:00pm. As a result, teachers can teach for only 22 minutes instead of over 35 minutes, said Majeda Begum, head teacher of the school.
In the second shift, students of Classes III, IV and V attend classes from 8:30am to 11:00am, with only two and a half hours to cover six subjects instead of three and a half hours, she added.
Kids of the three classes at normal schools attend classes from 12:15pm to 4:15pm and enjoy a 30-minute tiffin period from 1:35pm to 2:05pm.
Due to the prevailing situation, the teachers are taking a 25-minute class instead of 35 minutes, said assistant teacher Kamrul Ahsan, adding that the children are being deprived of full-length classes and the teachers are failing to properly cover the syllabus in such a short period.
Unable to get a proper education, a number of students left the school to take admission elsewhere. As a result, the number of students has fallen from 220 to 165 in about one and a half years, said the head teacher, adding that admission rates in pre-primary and Class I until February 9, 2016 are much lower than in earlier years.
“I formally informed the district education officer (DPEO) of the matter on September 25, 2014, and requested him to build a new school building on an emergency basis,” Majeda Begum said.
Contacted, Abdul Alim, DPEO, said he sent a proposal to the concerned authorities to construct a new building for the school in October 2014, but as yet to no effect.
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