Distressed students along with parents organised a ‘funeral’ of a dilapidated school in a village in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district on Tuesday. The school has been awaiting repairs for the past two years.

The primary school in Bhavnagar’s Dhamanka village in Umrala taluka has been in a bad state since 2022.

According to sources, despite two rounds of tendering for the construction of four classrooms, no contract has been awarded. Currently, 51 students from Class 1 to 8 study in the school with a staff of five teachers, out of which four are actively working.

Due to the deteriorating condition of the building, four classrooms were demolished two years ago to prevent any accidents.

Though the classrooms were quickly demolished, the students still await the construction of new ones even after two years.

This delay led the villagers to hold a sit-in protest by organising a ‘funeral’ of the school outside the primary school premises.

The District Education Officer (DEO) stated that the new classrooms have been approved and two rounds of tendering have already been conducted from Gandhinagar.

However, no contractor has taken up the work, causing delays. 

He said the government is ready to build the classrooms, but no contractor seems willing to take up the work.

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