School for the Visually Impaired in Pabna left unattended

OUR CORRESPONDENT

PABNA, Dec 19: School for the Visually Impaired adjacent to Atgharia Government High School in Pabna, built about seven years ago at a cost of more than Tk10 million (Tk 1 crore), has been lying neglected.

The two-storey scho0ol building constructed with the fund of the Ministry of Social Welfare in 2017 has not been opened yet letting the entire money get wasted.

Sources concerned said that the school could not be opened without recruiting teachers and other staff members and installing necessary equipment.

The building which has been left unused for a long time is now on the verge of dilapidation. It is not being possible to maintain the school building due to lack of manpower, added the sources.

According to the Social Service Office, there are about 6,225 visually impaired people in nine upazilas of Pabna district, of whom 25 per cent are students.

Many of them are from poor families. It is not possible to teach them in ordinary schools.

Teaching should be done by using Braille to provide opportunities for the visually impaired

to read. And that is why in 2017 this school for the visually impaired was established.

According to the sources, the posts of resident teachers, subject-based skilled teachers, cook, guards, MLSS and other employees and officials were created before the school was established.

However, appointment to these posts has not been made yet. Therefore the posts have remained vacant for a long time. Only one night guard is in charge of the maintenance.

The building has been kept locked for a long time letting trashes accumulate at the entrance and due to lack of maintenance the building is becoming uninhabitable.

Deputy Director of Social Services Department Md Rashedul Kabir told The Financial Express, "Necessary manpower is not being deployed. Therefore, in the present situation, the school is being considered for different management. Integrated visually impaired education programmes for the visually impaired have been undertaken, with special arrangements to be made with ordinary students in local schools."

He admitted that the construction of the school was completed seven years ago but it was not possible to deploy the necessary manpower. As a result, the school has not been opened. He assured that the school would be opened once full manpower is deployed.

[email protected]