Ansar personnel now live in a classroom of Haji Mazharul Haq Primary School, in Kotwali of Dhaka. Photo: Palash Khan As many as 54 state-run primary schools in the capital are under the illegal occupation of government institutions and powerful individuals. These government bodies and politically influential people have been occupying these schools fully or partially for years or even decades, wit
h the authorities failing to evict the grabbers. Dhaka Wasa, for example, has installed water pumps on the land of seven schools, while an Ansar-VDP camp, a community centre and two slums now occupy the buildings and classrooms of some other. But that is not all. Kitchen markets, shops, garages, mosques and Eidgahs have been set up set up on some school land. Shocking still, two privately-run high schools have occupied the classrooms of these government schools in question. This disturbing picture was revealed in a recent report of the District Primary Education Office (DPEO) of Dhaka. ONLY REPORTS, NO ACTIONS Shirin Akhter, Dhaka district primary education officer, submitted the report to the primary and mass education ministry on Monday. The report also mentions the measures taken to recover the land and classrooms from the illegal occupants. Advertisement "We have prepared the report based on information from our thana education officers," she told The Daily Star. In all, there are 295 government primary schools in the city. Over the past many years, the DPEO submitted similar reports to the deputy commissioner of Dhaka for recovering the school land and classrooms to ensure better learning environment for the students. “But the situation is complicated for some schools, as there are [10] cases pending with the court regarding the occupation." Teachers and academics say grabbing of school land has been a problem for long, but the government has done little to drive the grabbers out. Rasheda K Choudhury, former education adviser to a caretaker government, said many such reports had been submitted to the authorities in the past, but nobody took any action. "And whatever measures the authorities took are stuck in legal complications," she told The Daily Star. OCCUPANTS ALL AROUND According to the DPEO report, the Wasa has set up seven water pumps on the premises of as many schools. One of them is on 1,080 square feet of land belonging to Suritola Model Primary School in Old Dhaka. Surprisingly, the authorities of privately-run Ramna Railway High School hold classes occupying the ground, the first and the third floors of Suritola school. On the other hand, a kitchen market is thriving on the land of Ramna Railway Govt School. The Ansar and VDP force has made a camp occupying a room on the ground floor of Hazi Mazharul Haq Primary School under Kotwali Police Station. During a recent visit, this correspondent found some members of the force made the room their home. Asked, one of them said they had been using the room for quite some time, but did not give any specifics. Shahnaz Begum, primary education officer of Kotwali thana, said the Ansar had been living in the school for six months. "The schoolkids feel very odd about it." Slum dwellers have constructed rooms on the eastern side of Khalilur Rahman Govt Primary School in Mirpur. Repeated efforts to evict them have failed. Another slum has cropped up on the premises of Sher-e-Bangla Govt Primary School, also in Mirpur. The report says some Biharis (stranded Pakistanis) have constructed rooms by grabbing 30 decimals of a 36-decimal plot belonging to Shahin Govt Primary School in Mohammadpur. Similarly, some other Biharis have grabbed around 20 decimals of a 26-decimal plot of Abdul Mannan Govt Primary School in Mirpur. Grabbers have constructed a tin-roofed house on the land of Brahman Chiron Govt School in Demra. Construction of a multi-storey building is underway on the same land. An influential person has built a five-storey building by grabbing 5 decimals land of MA Alim Govt Primary School in Sutrapur. Teachers said the occupation was hampering educational activities and depriving the children of the playgrounds. “Some years ago, our kids used to play on the playground. But now they have lost that opportunity," said a teacher of Brahman school, wishing anonymity. Rasheda K Choudhury said under the Compulsory Primary Education Act, no one could occupy any government education institution. Sadly, many government agencies have been occupying school land. "Don't they understand the importance of education?" The government should take tough actions and do whatever it takes to remove the legal complexities to free the land, she added. Wasa has put a pump inside the compound of Suritola Model Primary School in Old Dhaka, occupying over 1,000 square feet of the school land. Photo: Palash Khan A PROBLEM WITH NO SOLUTION? In 1989, the government acquired the land on which privately-run Ramna Railway High School stood near the Osmani Auditorium. Following demonstrations by teachers and students, the government permitted its authorities to temporarily hold classes at Suritola school. Over the years, the 3rd and the 4th floors of Suritola have gone under the occupation of the Ramna Railway High School, said Abdur Rahman Khan, headteacher of Suritola school, which has around 817 students. "Our students face many problems due to the occupation. Our school schedule is from 7:30am-2:30pm, and Ramna school starts after 12:00noon. We then have just six rooms left for holding our classes.” And as the start times of the classes are different, teachers and students often get confused over the recess bells of the two schools. The headteacher said they wrote to the authorities several times to solve the problem, but in vain. He added they introduced academic programme for class six last year and were hoping to do so for class seven by the next year. "We need the entire building for giving lessons properly." The case of FKM Government Primary School is even more deplorable. Privately-run Bangshal High School authorities started using the classrooms of FKM school in 1988, following a temporary permission by the government. "But now the school [Bangshal] authorities claim that the school land is a Waqf property and therefore they have the same right like that of the primary school," said Kazi Laila Akhter, headteacher of FKM Govt Primary School, which has around 260 students. She said the school even filed a case in 2012 in this regard. "We pay the taxes, not the Bangshal school. They only pay the city corporation taxes,” she said, adding that they took classes in two shifts due to classroom shortages. Contacted, Dhaka DC Tofazzal Hossain Mia said it was the duty of the school authorities, the DPEO and the primary education directorate to resolve the issue. It has been going on for long, and the authorities did not monitor it properly. "We are working actively, but we cannot conduct drives as there are cases or court injunctions,” the DC said.
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