Banke, August 21:

Saraswati Primary School at Mahadevpuri in Banke district shuts whenever it rains. In the name of buildings, the school has huts. As benches and desks are in short supply, many students are forced to sit on the ground.

“As the thatched roof of the school leaks, we are forced to close the school whenever it rains,” headmaster Prem Bahadur Oli said. Sometimes, classrooms are inundated, he said.

“Owing to the lack of a building, we have been forced to teach students in huts,” the headmaster said, adding that the school has 300 students.

There are five rooms in the hut; one room is being used as the office. The school needs six rooms to accommodate the students. “As the school does not have enough desks and benches, students are forced to sit on the ground,” Oli said.

The district education office is yet to recognise the proposed school, which was established 10 years ago.

The DEO provides salary to three teachers appointed on relief quota, while community provides salary to another teacher. The government provides salary to a nursery teacher.

“The condition of the school is miserable,” Bhim Lal KC, said school management panel chairman.