The school field of Uttar Kadamtola Government Primary School in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat remains waterlogged throughout the rainy season, causing suffering to the students and people of the area as this field is used for school assembly, holding Janaja prayer and as a playground for the kids.
The school is also being used as a polling centre for 30 years. As the ground is lower than the surrounding area, the field remains waterlogged all through the rainy season. Due to the various uses of the field, it needs to be filled soon.
The locals said that the authorities concerned is not taking any measures to fill the school field. The work for the wash block of the school is also halted for a long time. If the work is not completed soon, both teachers and students will face hardship.
The school, established in 1928, has around 200 students. Although a new building was constructed, the school field is three to six feet lower than the school building in some places. As a result, during the rainy season, the field gets submerged in water during the rainy season. The young students cannot play on the field. Moreover, teachers are unable to hold assemblies with the students due to a lack of usable space.
Sub-Assistant Engineer of Upazila Department of Public Health Engineering, SM Mehedi Hasan said the construction of the wash block remained incomplete for a long time. The contractor was sent two letters, requesting the completion of the construction. The work is expected to be finished and handed over by March 2025.
Upazila Education Officer Mohammad Ashraful Islam said that surveys were conducted on several schools, including budget estimation, and sent to the directorate for filling up the school fields. So far, no field filling work was done for any school. Once approval is received from the directorate, the filling work will be carried out.
Upazila Engineer of Sarankhola LGED Ferdous Alam said the school field is much lower than the C&B road and it’s causing the waterlogging. We have surveyed eight schools and sent the report to the higher authorities. It is expected that the work may begin within the next six months. If a school is not on this list, they can submit an application to the Education Officer, and upon receiving it, we will conduct a survey and forward it to the directorate for approval.
