School playground left useless for 20 years
180 students of the school now cannot play there as it was dug up for earth to make a road
A large portion of the playground at a government primary school was dug up for earth-filling of a road running by it. But about twenty years later, the playground still remains unusable as the authorities did not fill up the huge ditch beside it.
The remaining portion of the playground, at Bahadurkanda Government Primary School in Netrakona’s Kalmakanda upazila, is not suitable for sporting activities of children either. As a result, the young students of the school are being deprived of physical education and other extra-curricular activities.
Established in 1978 on 52 decimals of land, 180 students are currently enrolled at the school. When the school was nationalised in 2013, locals hoped in vain that the ditch in the school’s playground would be filled up soon.
Shelly Rani Saha, the school’s headteacher, said in April this year, they filed a petition with local lawmaker Manu Majumder for allocation of funds for the playground.
The state of the playground is affecting extra-curricular activities of the students as they cannot play there at all, she also said.
President of the school’s managing committee, Nurul Islam, said they approached many different officials concerned over the years, but the problem remains the same.
The playground remains unusable throughout the year and it gets worse with stagnant water even after a little rainfall, he added.
Sajjad Hossain, an assistant teacher of the school, said, “In the last 20 years, we sought help from many political leaders including local ones as well as public representatives. But no one took any step [in this regard].”
Rajon Mondol, a fifth grader at the school, said students of his school are falling behind in games and sports competitions as they cannot use the playground.
“We want to play cricket, football and other games on the ground round the year, but no one cares,” said Tanni Akter, another fifth grader.
Kalmakanda Upazila Education Officer Monirul Islam said out of a total 172 primary schools in the upazila, 20 are facing similar problems with playgrounds.
While talking to this correspondent, Kalmakanda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Zakir Hossain said sports and games are essential for children’s mental and physical development. And in order to make the playground usable for the children in the area, the ditch has to be filled up urgently with earth.
He also said immediate steps would be taken from his end to solve the problem.