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This is called a `model school'

GroundTruth

PATHETIC STATE: Students in a classroom.

WELCOME TO the Government Model Primary School at Basavakalyan. It lacks even the basic facilities. It has tin sheets for a roof, which leaks when in rains. Every monsoon, rainwater collects on the campus. The ground in front of the school becomes a muddy puddle and students have a tough time.

Dogs, cows and pigs are found around the school campus as there is no compound. Dogs enter classrooms when it gets hot outside. Cows eat the vegetables, meant for cooking midday meal, kept in the corner of a room.

When this correspondent visited the school on Friday, pigs were waiting for the children to disperse so that they could eat the leftovers. Those in charge of serving the midday meal said it had become difficult to control the animals. "Despite our efforts to drive them out of school, they keep coming back," said the head cook.

The school does not have enough plates and cups, and half the students have to wait till the first batch finishes the meal. Classrooms do not have tiled floors. And when the roof leaks, the floor gets slushy. "It is difficult to sit," said a teacher. But students are forced to sit on the floor as the classroom has no furniture.

There is also shortage of teachers. The school did not have a science teacher for nearly six months. A teacher was posted here only last fortnight, the teachers said.

School Development and Managing Committee president Yashwant Talekar said the Government seemed indifferent to the problems of the school.

"We have written many letters to the Government seeking funds to build a compound for the school. It will not only stop animals from entering the school, but also prevent vested interests from trying to encroach upon the school ground," he said. .

When contacted, Mallikarjun Khuba, MLA, said that he would take steps to develop the school.

Rishikesh Bahadur Desai in Bidar

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