DIBRUGARH, Aug 19 � Bonti, is a souvenir published on the occasion of centenary celebration of the Dhamal Gaon Primary School under Bogibeel Panchayat within Borborua block. This souvenir published in February 2012 contains the centenary greetings of Assam Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma among others in the form of messages. But the irony is that the 101-year-old primary school is running without any teacher now.
The school complex, which stands in an area of about half a bigha is now getting surrounded with wild bushes and creepers. Nevertheless, 44 children enrolled in the school continue coming to the school for self-study. Pritham Das, a Class V standard boy is acting as the captain to intone the assembly prayer, O mur apunar dekh, oath and maintain the school discipline. �We open the school ourselves and stay within the precincts until our parents come to take us. We maintain the timing and discipline as far as we can and read our respective books.
Sometimes people from the village come to teach us. But for most part of the day, we are without anyone to guide us,� Pritham Das, who is aspiring to be a doctor told this correspondent.
Sunil Das, president of the school management committee said that former teachers of the school retired recently and the concerned officials did not appoint anyone despite being aware of the situation.
�Nagen Gogoi, who was the headmaster of the school retired on May 30, 2013 and Anjali Sonowal, who served as the assistant teacher retired on June 30, 2013. We had already told the block level education officer and the district elementary education office about new appointment but the concerned officials practically did nothing. They assured us that teachers would be appointed immediately after the summer vacations but no one has been engaged yet,� the school management committee said. The school children are also deprived of their mid-day meal due to the absence of teachers.
It needs to be mentioned here that several past students of the school today have reached their height of pinnacle. Tilak Baruah, surveyor, loss assessor and investigator of Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, anthropologist Dr Pinuma Baruah Sonowal of Anthropological Survey of India, North Eastern Regional Centre, Shilllong and Kalyan Das, an engineer working in Bulgaria are among those who studied in this school.
The school is about 20 kilometres from the city here. The school is about 5 kilometres away from the Brahmaputra and about 9 kilometres from the National Highway.
DIBRUGARH, Aug 19 � Bonti, is a souvenir published on the occasion of centenary celebration of the Dhamal Gaon Primary School under Bogibeel Panchayat within Borborua block. This souvenir published in February 2012 contains the centenary greetings of Assam Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma among others in the form of messages. But the irony is that the 101-year-old primary school is running without any teacher now.
The school complex, which stands in an area of about half a bigha is now getting surrounded with wild bushes and creepers. Nevertheless, 44 children enrolled in the school continue coming to the school for self-study. Pritham Das, a Class V standard boy is acting as the captain to intone the assembly prayer, O mur apunar dekh, oath and maintain the school discipline. �We open the school ourselves and stay within the precincts until our parents come to take us. We maintain the timing and discipline as far as we can and read our respective books.
Sometimes people from the village come to teach us. But for most part of the day, we are without anyone to guide us,� Pritham Das, who is aspiring to be a doctor told this correspondent.
Sunil Das, president of the school management committee said that former teachers of the school retired recently and the concerned officials did not appoint anyone despite being aware of the situation.
�Nagen Gogoi, who was the headmaster of the school retired on May 30, 2013 and Anjali Sonowal, who served as the assistant teacher retired on June 30, 2013. We had already told the block level education officer and the district elementary education office about new appointment but the concerned officials practically did nothing. They assured us that teachers would be appointed immediately after the summer vacations but no one has been engaged yet,� the school management committee said. The school children are also deprived of their mid-day meal due to the absence of teachers.
It needs to be mentioned here that several past students of the school today have reached their height of pinnacle. Tilak Baruah, surveyor, loss assessor and investigator of Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, anthropologist Dr Pinuma Baruah Sonowal of Anthropological Survey of India, North Eastern Regional Centre, Shilllong and Kalyan Das, an engineer working in Bulgaria are among those who studied in this school.
The school is about 20 kilometres from the city here. The school is about 5 kilometres away from the Brahmaputra and about 9 kilometres from the National Highway.
