Bengali High School: End of a golden era
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, September 27 2013 :
The Bengali High School, a government run institute in the heart of Imphal city, is now in a deplorable state with no adequate infrastructure, thus, compelling the students of three different standards to sit together in a single room for taking places.
Showing no sign of any maintenance, tall grasses are also seen growing everywhere inside the school campus.
Informing about the awful condition in which one of the oldest schools in the State has been functioning, M Satyabati and M Sobita, both teachers working in the school, pointed out that a number of students who have passed out from Bengali High School are now employed in different government departments as high ranking officers.
The school was one of the best schools in the State at one time.
But now due to various reasons, the enrollment of students in the school has considerable declined over the years.
They further informed that in the past around 800-900 students were admitted in the school.
But today the total number of students admitted in the school hardly reaches 100.The main reason behind the decrease in the number of students enrolled is because the school remains the parking space for security personnel of VIPs whenever they arrive at Imphal.
On certain government functions also, the school campus is used as parking lots, thus, forcing the school to close on all such occasions.
The staffs of the school as well as the parents have been complaining over conversion of the school campus as parking lot as well as dirtying the school by the security personnel who are staying in it during certain functions of the government.
But the authority has not paid any attention.
So, all in all, the school has today become a 'dumping area' for security personnel and government officials, the two lady teachers lamented.
They went on to inform that there are 19 teachers in the school teaching altogether 120 students at present.
But again, from among the teachers, 2 teachers of mathematics have been utilized in office of the Education Department.
On lack of necessary infrastructures in the school, the two lady teachers pointed out that there are no separate toilets for the boys and girls in the school and so they are using the same toilet.
Not only the students of this school but also the workers engaged in construction of government quarters on the eastern side of the school campus are using the same toilet.
There is also the need to construct a library room, godown, kitchen, cycle shed, and staff quarters of the school.
Due to lack of classrooms in the school, the teachers as well as the students are facing a whole lot of problems, they added.
The school campus is also in a pathetic condition with tall grasses growing everywhere.
Even a little drizzle could flood the whole school campus, thus, making it hard for the students as well as the teachers to attend classes.
Moreover, the classrooms also get flooded and classes are compelled to be cancelled.