With cracks in pillars and walls and leaks in the roof, the Gowrichanna High School-Attached Government Primary School building was declared risky about two years ago.

But despite the fear of a disaster, the teachers and students are forced to use the building, as the authorities have not yet constructed a new one for them.

The institution in Barguna Sadar upazila is among over 21,500 primary schools that are operating with plasters falling off the ceilings, cracks in the walls, holes in the floors, water leaking through the roofs, and broken windows and doors.

"As there is no alternative, we are forced to teach in such a worn-out building. We have applied to the authorities for a new building," said Mainul Hossain, a teacher at the school.

"Our school has developed cracks in many places. We have to attend classes despite fear of a serious accident at any time," a fifth-grade student said.

Meanwhile, recent devastation by flash floods damaged around 2,800 primary schools in 11 districts of Sylhet and Chattogram divisions, according to the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE).

Bangladesh has 1.07 lakh primary educational institutions, including 65,567 belonging to the government. Nearly 1.1 crore students of grades one to five are taught by more than 3.84 lakh teachers at the government primary schools.

Official data shows around 20 percent of the total primary schools across the country are in dilapidated conditions that have put the lives of tens of thousands of students and teachers at risk.

They have to give and take lessons in shabby buildings vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters like cyclones, floods, and earthquakes.

According to the DPE, another 16 percent of the school buildings also need repairs.

Field-level officials at the DPE and teachers said that the roofs of most of these schools are in ramshackle conditions.

DPE officials said that in July this year, 49,656 school buildings were "new, good and usable", 18,271 were "old", 16,998 were "repairable", 11,613 were in "dilapidated" conditions, 5,252 were "risky", 3,307 were "abandoned", 1,348 were "non-usable", and the rest were under construction.

They said a lot of the government primary schools are 40 to 50 years old. Many of the 26,193 primary schools, which were nationalised in 2013, are also in bad shape. Several hundred others have been damaged by floods or cyclones.

In many cases, school authorities are holding classes even in buildings declared "abandoned", risking the lives of teachers and students.

DPE Director General Abdus Samad said renovating these school buildings is a continuous process.

"It is on our list of priorities. We take all kinds of steps so that students and teachers do not have to attend classes in fear," he said.

As many as 27 percent of government primary school buildings needed repair, according to the Impact Evaluation Report of the Third Primary Education Development Program, conducted by the Planning Commission's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division and published in June 2023.

The report is based on information collected from 480 primary schools.

A total of 19 percent of the 1,200 students interviewed for the impact evaluation report said their classrooms are risky as rainwater gets through leaks in the roofs.

Prof Mohammad Tariq Ahsan of Dhaka University's Institute of Education and Research said the shabby condition of the schools takes a toll on the educational atmosphere.

"It is obvious that students and teachers constantly remain in fear during classes. Such a situation puts a huge psychological pressure on them, affecting the process of learning," he said.

"Schools should ensure an atmosphere favourable to joyful learning. But a school building in disrepair lacks such an environment, for which students lose concentration in the classroom. They also lose motivation," he added.

Teachers also face some problems. They feel upset, a feeling that greatly affects teaching, Tariq pointed out.

Primary and Mass Education Secretary Farid Ahmed said that they are constructing a new building and beautifying 342 government primary schools in Dhaka.

Prof Tariq said it is a good step that many government primary schools in Dhaka are set to go through beautification for improvement of the physical ambience.

But such a programme should be implemented for all schools across the country, not just the capital, he added.

Secretary Farid said they have plans to expand the programme to the rest of the country and renovate all primary schools across Bangladesh in the next five years.

FLOOD DAMAGE

Floods in the country's southeastern and northeastern regions in August have caused damage to the infrastructures, furniture, books, and documents at 2,799 government primary schools across 11 districts, the DPE said in a press release on September 10.

The affected schools included 763 in Noakhali, 501 in Lakshmipur, 550 in Feni, 22 in Brahmanbaria, 523 in Cumilla, 169 in Chandpur, 164 in Chattogram, 77 in Moulvibazar, eight in Sylhet, and 22 in Habiganj.

Citing initial estimates, the DPE said repairing the school buildings damaged by the floods would require around Tk 33 crore and the directorate would get budget allocation for the work.