Five classes taught in one room: Grim reality of Kaimur and Rohtas govt schools

Time of India

2 days ago

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Sasaram: Imagine students from classes I to V learning the same lessons in one classroom! It might sound unbelievable, but it's the reality that hundreds of students have been living in Kaimur and Rohtas districts.
At Beri Primary School in Mohania block of Kaimur and Middle School, Vishodihari, in Kargahar block of Rohtas, five different classes — I to V — are being taught simultaneously in single rooms. This was found during a visit by teams of education department last week, leaving the tall claims of reform only on paper, while on the ground, students and teachers navigate the chaos.
At Beri Primary School, which has 90 students and five sanctioned teachers, all classes from I to V are crammed into a single functional room.
On most days, 50 to 60 students are present, and they are forced to share not just space and teachers, but lessons as well.
"When we ask a teacher to teach our class, students from other grades start shouting. Eventually, everyone ends up learning the same thing, and we don't understand anything," one student told the visiting officials.
With only one room available, the school's administrative work also takes place there.
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Basic facilities are shockingly absent: there is no dedicated kitchen for preparing mid-day meal, no drinking water and not even a hand pump on the campus. Meals are cooked under a temporary shed, exposing children to hygiene risks, the inspection report by the vsiting officials claimed.
Vikas Kumar D N, the district programme officer of Kaimur, confirmed that the shortage of classrooms and deteriorating infrastructure has come to the administration's notice.
"The matter has been raised at the district level. The Bihar govt is committed to improving school infrastructure, and construction work will be initiated soon," said Kumar.
Similarly once considered a model institution after its establishment in 1956, Middle School, Vishodihari, in Rohtas now struggles to function. Despite having six sanctioned teaching posts and 158 enrolled students from classes I to VIII, only one teacher remains present.
Villagers allege that while several teachers mark their attendance digitally through the govt app, they leave immediately after that, as a result, students from classes VI to VIII are left unsupervised. They often spend the school day playing instead of studying, said the villagers.
Three rooms were built at the school in 2015, of which one serves as the headmaster's office, another accommodates classes I to V and the third is designated for class VIII.
Students of classes VI and VII are squeezed into a decaying structure that leaks during rain, despite being relatively new.
Toilets and urinals, constructed just last year, have already collapsed — posing serious sanitation issues, especially for girls and the lone woman teacher. With no drinking water facilities on the campus, students are forced to walk to a nearby higher secondary school to fetch water.
Mid-day meals are irregular, adding to the disillusionment of parents who have begun transferring their children to better-managed schools. This has caused a noticeable drop in local enrolment.
Manoj Kumar Ram, in charge block education officer, Karahagar, acknowledged receiving complaints regarding absentee teachers and poor infrastructure.