IMPHAL, July 20: Lairenkabi-Kadangban Gram Panchayat Pradhan N Boby along with Members of some 10 Wards conducted the first of a proposed series of inspection tours of schools located inside the Gram Panchayat today.
On the first day inspection drive today, the team inspected Atong Khunou Primary School, Kangdabi Polangsoi, the last polling station in Sekmai Assembly constituency.
The school has been upgraded from lower primary to primary level now with 32 students presently studying at the school.
A Head Master and four assistant teachers were running the school however, during inspection only two teachers, a lady teacher from Sekmai and a male teacher from Tera Sayang Leirak were found present inside the school.
A query into the matter revealed that the other teachers have not attended the school since a long time back.
It is also said that the Headmaster Irengbam Rajendro Singh who was earlier present inside the school when the Pradhan and Members had reached the school, was found fleeing from the school after locking a room on hearing that media persons were also coming to the school.
The school’s development committee convenor I Raghu, speaking to the media informed that most of teachers of the school do not come to school regularly because of which the students also don’t attend regularly.
The students have not been provided with text books nor uniforms or mid-day meals, he said.
He said that he is the cook for the mid-day meal but takes classes to fill in for the absent teachers as well.
He cannot feed the students regularly from his own pocket, he said while adding that he has not received his pay for being the cook for more than two years now.
The school building has brick walls with CI sheets for the roof.
During the inspection tour, the people present informed that the construction works of the school building completed a year ago however, the school which has four rooms has only one room which has a door. The other rooms have no door or windows, the flooring is not done properly, whkie the stairs at the veranda have started breaking. The two toilets of the school meanwhile had no doors.
The school which has 32 students has only four desks and four benches. A mat was seen in one of the rooms during the inspection was said to be brought by the students.
As the class rooms have no doors, animals get inside the classrooms and excrete inside the classrooms, informed the locals.
“If the school stops functioning, students of the area have to go to schools at Khumbong, Awang Khunou and Sagoltongba which are 7 to 8 Km away,” one of the people present said.
No officials from the Education department including Zonal Education officer Maibam Gopimohon have ever come to inspect the school, they added.
Pradhan N Boby along with the Members of the Gram Panchayat during the inspection promised that they will do their level best to improve the school. They have also informed that they will inspect other government schools which are under their jurisdiction.