Odisha urges WB govt for renovation of Odia high school in Kolkata – Times of India

School and mass education department principal secretary Satyabrata Sahu has written a letter to his West Bengal counterpart Manish Jain, principal secretary of school education department, about the poor condition of the high school building.

As substantial Odia population live in Kolkata, Sahu said, a number of Odia educational institutions have come up with the support of the West Bengal government. The Odisha government also provides nationalised textbooks to the students based on their requirement every year free of cost, he added.

One of the schools named after freedom fighter Pandit Gopabandhu Das that is Gopabandhu High School, Bhawanipore got official recognition from the WB government in the year 1981. It provides education to students at secondary level. Although the school was started from the primary section, now around 100 Odia students read in the secondary level, said the Odisha officer.

“Physical condition of the building or infrastructure is genuinely in a bad shape. The Kolkata police and local administration have declared the building as unsafe and accordingly an unsafe banner has been pasted in the wall of the school building. On further enquiry at this level, it is learnt that the condition of the building started deteriorating after cyclone Amphan and in the meantime it is further worsened,” said Sahu in his letter.

He said there is strong cultural bond between the two states and requested Jain to look into the matter personally and take immediate steps for renovation/repair of the school so that 100 Odia students reading there along with nine teachers and other support staff feel safe.