Bamboos support concrete beam to protcet classroom in Jhenidah

Students are attending classes in the risky building of Chapali Government Primary School in Kaliganj upazila under the district due to the negligence of the authorities concerned.

The beams of the building had developed cracks in the last three years and are supported by bamboo poles. Rainwater leaks through cracks in the ceiling, which could collapse any time, and plaster is falling off the walls.

The institution was started in a tin-shed, and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) constructed the present building in 1994. It has three classrooms and an office room, he added. Upazila LGED engineers declared the building risky two years ago.

Ratna Khatun, a student of Class V, said they are always worried that the ceiling might collapse, adding that rainwater enters the class during the rainy season.

Sumon Hossain of Class IV said if the school is not repaired soon they will leave it. 

Guardian Tapan Mahmud of Chapali village said a tragic incident may occur as the roof of the institution could collapse any time. The authorities concerned should repair the building immediately, he added.

Assistant teacher Harun-ur-Rashid said they have informed the upazila primary education officer of the matter, but no steps have been taken yet. 

Upazila Primary Education Officer Salma Khatun said there are some risky institutions in the upazila, adding that they have forwarded a proposal for repair of five institutions with Chapali school at the top of the list. 

Chapali Government Primary School, which has 139 students in five classes, was established in 1972 and nationalised in 2013. 

 Headmaster Kamol Kanta Majumdar said there are five teachers. The school has a good record in the terminal examinations and the pass rate is 100 percent, while three or four students obtain scholarship every year, he added.