Mahbubur Rahman Tipu, Dohar (Dhaka)

Even after a building at Jamalchar Government Primary School in Dohar Upazila of Dhaka was declared abandoned, teaching is continuing at risk.

It is learnt that Jamalchar Government Primary School No. 8 in Dohar Upazila of Dhaka was first built in 1937. Despite having a long history of spreading the light of education for those 89 years, the educational institution is currently suffering from a dilapidated building, teacher shortage, and lack of students.

Also, there is no managing committee in the school. This once vibrant school is now a reflection of neglect and misery.

Upon inspection, it was found that the condition of the old school building-1 is very deplorable. It is known that the plaster of two rooms of the building built in 2001 is now falling off. Although there is half of the ventilator in the front part of the room, the other half is missing.
The concrete of the roof has come off and rusty rods have come out long ago. The wooden doors are covered in cracks. Which are waiting to collapse on the students at any time. As two rooms of the old building have become unusable, classes are being held in only two rooms of Building-2, which was rebuilt in 2010. Despite the fact that Building-1 is risky, due to the shortage of classrooms, teachers conduct official activities in one room at the risk of their lives. In another room, young students have to conduct class activities.

In this regard, the headmistress of the institution, Rawshnara Begum, said that currently the total number of students in the school is 124. Of these, 18 are in pre-primary, 11 in first grade, 23 in second grade, 25 in third grade, 33 in fourth grade, and 14 in fifth grade.

He said that the reason for the decline in students is that local parents are now more inclined towards private or kindergarten schools than these dilapidated government schools. In addition, the transportation management to schools is in a bad state. As a result, it has become a major obstacle to the regular attendance of students.
Talking to the locals, it was learned that this school was not like this once. It was always bustling with students. In 2010, 2 students received scholarships from here. But due to lack of infrastructure development and lack of modern facilities, the school is losing its old tradition. There are complaints that the general public is reluctant to send their children here as teaching is disrupted due to lack of sufficient teachers and classrooms. Local resident Lipon Khan said that a new multi-storey and modern building needs to be constructed urgently to protect this historically important school.

According to guardian Mohammad Jamal, the construction of a new multi-storey and modern building, as well as the repair of the access road to the school, is necessary. Otherwise, the number of students may decrease at an alarming rate in the near future.

The term of the managing committee, which played an important role in the management of the school, has now expired. However, the headmistress, Rawshan Ara Begum,
He expressed optimism that a new managing committee would be formed very soon, which would be helpful in the development of the school.
Doha Upazila Assistant Primary Education Officer Md. Nayeb Ali said that earlier on May 2, 2026, he had inspected the school and submitted a complete report to the higher authorities. The report declared the dilapidated condition of Building-1 and unusable. Currently, teaching activities are ongoing in two rooms of Building-2.

Upazila Primary Education Officer Syeda Parveen said in this regard, documents for the new building have been sent to the Dohar Upazila Engineer. He is seeking the overall cooperation and necessary steps from the higher authorities. He also said that it is true that the term of the school's managing committee has expired, but there is an ad hoc committee of 4 members. A full-fledged committee will be formed soon.

In this regard, Doha Upazila Engineer MA Raju Ahmed said that he has sent a request to the relevant authorities to take steps to quickly renovate or reconstruct this dilapidated building.