Jharkhand: Snakes force students back to partly demolished school in Palamu
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Daltonganj, September 27: Snakes have forced students of a government middle school in Parwa, Palamu, to return to…
Students attend classes at the Government Middle School in Parwa, Palamu, where the remaining hall and verandah are being used after part of the school building was demolished for the NH-39/NH-139 four-laning project.
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, September 27: Snakes have forced students of a government middle school in Parwa, Palamu, to return to their partly demolished school building, highlighting the difficult conditions faced by children caught between a major highway project and delays in construction of a new school building.
The 190 students of Government Middle School, Parwa, had been divided between the old school building and the nearby Panchayat Bhavan after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) demolished a substantial portion of the school building to facilitate construction of a four-lane junction connecting NH-39 and NH-139.
However, classes for students of Classes 1 to 5 had to be shifted back after snakes were spotted twice inside the Panchayat Bhavan, triggering fear among students, teachers and parents.
The school has around 190 enrolled students, including 70 in Classes 1 to 5 and 120 in Classes 6 to 8.
The younger students had been attending classes in two rooms of the Panchayat Bhavan, while Classes 6 to 8 continued in the portion of the old school building that remained intact after demolition.
In-charge headmistress Anjali Senger said the temporary arrangement continued for around 15-16 weeks before the discovery of snakes forced the school to reconsider the arrangement.
“The snakes’ crawling scared and frightened everyone. Parents too wanted their children back to the same demolished school which was left with a big hall and verandah intact. So we got back to our old hall and verandah just a few days ago,” she said.
NHAI paid ₹1.5 crore for school land and building
According to school and district education officials, the school building came in the way of the four-laning project at the NH-39 and NH-139 junction.
The NHAI subsequently paid ₹1.5 crore to the School Management Committee (SMC) after completing the required formalities, following which a substantial portion of the school building was demolished to make way for the road project.
District Education Officer Sandeep Kumar said the amount was deposited with the SMC around four months ago and that the process for constructing a completely new school building would now begin.
“There was no disruption of teaching for any class from 1 to 8. There was surely a crunch of space. This crunch of space was unavoidable,” Kumar said.
Classes now being held in hall and verandah
With the temporary Panchayat Bhavan arrangement abandoned, Classes 1 to 5 are now being conducted in the verandah, while Classes 6 to 8 are being taught in the remaining hall of the old school building.
Senger said the arrangement was considered safer than continuing classes in the Panchayat Bhavan after the snakes were spotted there.
She said parents and the School Management Committee had supported the decision to bring the younger students back to the old premises.
DISHA meeting flags delay in new school
The issue was also raised during the DISHA meeting held on Saturday, where Palamu MP Vishnu Dayal Ram, the committee chairperson, and state Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore expressed concern over the delay in initiating construction of the new school building.
Sources said Kishore directed the District Education Officer to expedite the process.
The District Education Officer also appreciated headmistress Senger and her six assistant teachers for taking a prompt decision to shift the younger students back after the snakes were spotted.
New building may take time
Kumar said a tender would be floated for construction of an entirely new school building.
While the availability of funds has removed one major hurdle, the construction process is expected to take some time. Until then, the school will continue to function with limited space in the remaining hall and verandah.
The situation has left the school caught between highway expansion, a demolished building, a temporary campus made unsafe by snakes and the wait for a permanent replacement.
