Uttar pingoria school: Dilapidated building puts students at risk

Students at Uttar Pingoria Government Primary School in Bagerhat's Kachua upazila are enduring dire learning conditions due to the lack of a proper building.

Currently closed for Ramadan vacation, the school operates from a dilapidated abandoned structure and a few tin-roofed rooms resembling a warehouse, leaving both students and teachers in distress.

Despite being a government institution, the school has never received any official allocation for infrastructure development. Compounding the issue, the land available for constructing a new building is a 10-foot-deep pond, rendering it unsuitable for development.

Locals have long demanded proper facilities, particularly a permanent, elevated school building that could also serve as a shelter during floods. Villagers often struggle with rising water levels, as the area lacks a nearby cyclone or flood shelter, leaving them vulnerable during natural disasters.

"I have been seeing this school in the same condition for years," said Mahitul Islam Nakib, a local politician. "Our children deserve a proper learning environment. During the monsoon, water seeps into the tin rooms, and in summer, it becomes very hot, making it almost impossible for them to study," he said.

Another resident, Mizan Nakib, a local reporter, said, "When floods hit, the people have nowhere to go. If a proper school building is constructed, it could also serve as a shelter for villagers in emergencies."

Contacted, Kachua UNO KM Abu Nawshad said the upazila administration is working towards a solution.

"We are taking steps to make the pond-like land suitable for construction. Once that is done, we will push for a new building to address both the students' needs and the local population's demand for a flood shelter," he said.