KALAIGAON, Oct 30 - Orang Balika ME School in Udalguri district was established in 1991 with public donation and support. The school was temporarily run in a house on the premises of Orang Lakhi Mandir.
The State Education Department took over the school in 2013 and granted provincial status to it. But unfortunately even after its provincial status, the students of the school have been suffering a lot due to lack of own school building.
In 2008, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, Guwahati (ASTEC), granted an Aryabhatta Science Centre to the school for Mazbat block. Since then, the school has been coordinating science-based activities in the block. Several students of Mazbat development block have participated in the district and State level science activities.
An amount of Rs 4 lakh was sanctioned by the ASTEC to the science centre in 2014 and the science building was constructed in 2016 on school land near Orang. The school was shifted to its new site in 2016. However, the State Education Department�s indifferent attitude towards constructing a school building is affecting the future of the students.
At present, there are more than 96 students in the school with six teachers, one choukidar and two cooking staff. Dikamaya Devi, headmistress of the school, told this correspondent that students have been suffering a lot in the temporary classroom sheds. Many a times, especially in rain season, it is difficult to run classes.
Without its own building, the school authority was compelled to use the Aryabhatta Science Centre building as the office and storerooms, which has stopped all science activities. The dilapidated state of the classrooms has posed threats to the students as the school sheds might collapse at any time.
