To save from rain

Around 700 students of a high school under Taltali upazila in Barguna are attending classes under umbrellas to save themselves from the water that seeps into the classrooms when it rains.

The school also suffers from a shortage of space, benches, tables and absence of a permanent building, depriving the students of a proper environment for learning.

Talukderpara High School was set up in 2000 in two tin-sheds, which were badly damaged in the super cyclone Sidr in 2007. Both the schoolhouses are in very bad shape due to lack of renovation since establishment of the school.

Tahera Afroj, a Class X student, said rainwater enters the classrooms as the tin roof is badly damaged, adding that students have to sit under umbrellas in the classrooms to protect themselves and their books from rainwater.

The earthen floor also becomes muddy when rainwater enters the classroom, Afroja said.

The situation is bad even on the sunny days as the tin-shed classroom becomes very hot, said Al Amin, another student of the institution.

Headmaster Abu Taher said around 700 students are studying in the institution, and the school has achieved good results in public examinations.

All 86 examinees of Junior School Certificate passed last year, and around 120 students will take the exam this year, he said, adding that around 93 percent of the students passed Secondary School Certificate examinations this year under Barisal Education Board.

“There are only six teachers here and we have to run classes with some part-time teachers, who are all committed to providing better teaching to the students,” the headmaster added.

The school has only six rooms, of which five are classrooms while the other one is used as office, teacher's room and common room, he said.

“We need more rooms to accommodate the classrooms, office room, common room, teachers' room and prayer room. We requested the authorities concerned to build a multi-story building to ensure a better environment considering the students' interest,” the headmaster added.

Taltali Upazila Secondary Education Officer Lutful Kabir Md Kamrul Hasan said, “The school is running well, but there are some problems. I am preparing a list of vulnerable schools and will send it to the higher authorities for steps to renovate those.”