School compound remains water-logged half the year

Educational and co-curricular activities at a government primary school in Jamalpur municipality are being hampered greatly due to accommodation shortage and waterlogging in the school ground for many years.

Bogabaid Government Primary School at Bogabaid village in Jamalpur municipality, around two km from the town, has been facing such a situation from April to October every year since 2011, thanks to the indifference of the authorities concerned.

The institution, established in 1950, was nationalised in 1973. It has two schoolhouses -- a two-room tin-shed built in 1973, and a two-room concrete building built in 2005.

Three rooms are used to take classes for 412 students from pre-primary to Class V in two shifts, while a room of the tin-shed is used as the office.

Besides, a 15-minute assembly which includes parade, chorus singing of national anthem, oath taking and listening to moral lessons, is held at the school ground for each shift before academic activities start.

Students of pre-primary and Classes I and II attend classes in three rooms in the first shift from 9:30am to 12:00pm, while students of Classes III, IV and V attend classes in those rooms from 12:15pm to 4:15pm in the second shift, teachers said.

The tin-shed is unfit for taking classes as rainwater enters the low-lying schoolhouse from the inundated school ground, assistant teacher Selina Parvin said.       

Rainwater remains stagnant on the ground for seven months (from April to October) due to lack of a drainage system, said Selina.

In such a situation, the first-shift kids of pre-primary and Class II attend classes in one room and students of Class I in another room of the concrete building, while the second shift kids of Classes III and IV sit together in one room and  students of Class V in the other room, she said.

“We try our best to take the joint classes with good learning outcome, but the students cannot concentrate properly,” said assistant teacher Laboni Nahar.

The kids are being deprived of attending assembly due to waterlogging in the school ground, said headmaster Royena Begum.

“Due to waterlogging, the kids are confined to the classrooms and cannot move around or play even during the tiffin period, hampering their mental and physical development,” Royena said, adding that the school direly needs another building and a drainage system to ensure proper education with co-curricular activities for the kids.

“We informed the higher authorities concerned about the matter several times, but the problems are yet to be solved,” she added.

District Primary Education Officer Shahidul Islam said he has sent a proposal to the higher authorities concerned to build another concrete building to solve the accommodation problem.

“I talked to the mayor of Jamalpur municipality to set up a drainage system at the school to remove waterlogging from the ground, and he gave assurance that he will do it,” he added.