With No Building Since 3 Years, Students of Primary School in Andhra Forced to Study in Open Fields

Hyderabad: The students of a primary government school in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam District are forced to study in open fields due to a lack of proper building.

A land in Devakivada village was acquired for the construction of Madduvalasa reservoir more than five years ago, and an R&R colony was constructed near Kinjangi village, about two kilometers from the acquired village.

There are 35 children in this village and all of them attend the solo school, which came into being in 2016 during the TDP government’s tenure. While the foundation of the shool building was laid years ago, its construction stopped midway due to various reasons.

The school has two teachers, who have been giving lessons under a tree in open fields since three years.

“There are 35 students and all of them have shown interest in attending school. But we don't have a school building. We waited for three years for the school building and when we didn't get any positive response from the government officials, we decided to run the school under a tree shade. At least now the government should get the construction of building completed," said Madusudan, one of the teachers.

"The present government says it will provide the necessary infrastructure facilities in schools as part of a program called 'Nadu-Nedu'. But we don't even have a building yet…when will the infrastructure be provided? We request the government authorities to provide a structure first and later think about basic infrastructure facilities," said Shiva Kumar, a local.

"We want to go to school like other children, but we don't have a school. So the teachers are taking lessons under the tree. It is challenging to go to the fields. We carry a school bag and a gunny bag daily to the school. The gunny bag is used for sitting in the class under trees," said Bhanu Prasad, a class 4 student.

Local officials told News18 that the situation was brought to the notice of senior government officials who are responsible for providing school infrastructure under the ‘Nadu-Nedu’ programme. “From our end, we sent a clear proposal to the higher officials,” Said D.E.O. Chandrakala.