Bihar school roof propped up with benches after pillar collapse, 191 children at risk

A government primary school in Darbhanga’s Alinagar block has been operating amid serious safety concerns after a pillar of its ageing building collapsed, leaving benches, desks and bricks being used as makeshift supports for a section of the roof.

The precarious condition of Kiratpur Primary School has raised concerns over the safety of its 191 enrolled children. While classes are not being held beneath the portion supported by the makeshift arrangement, students and teachers still have to pass through the area.

The school building dates back to 1983, when it was constructed under the Centre’s ‘Operation Blackboard’ programme. Over the years, the structure has developed several problems, including a leaking roof, deteriorating beams and pillars, fallen plaster and exposed reinforcement bars.

A pillar collapsed around three to four months ago, according to school authorities. Instead of a replacement pillar being constructed, benches, desks and bricks were placed beneath the roof as temporary support.

Classes held amid severe space constraints

The school caters to Classes I to V but has only two rooms. One room is currently being used to store office furniture and an almirah, while benches and desks are kept in the other room and the verandah, according to officials.

Because of the shortage of usable space and the condition of the building, teaching has been taking place in open areas. The district education officer said classes were currently being conducted in the kitchen shed on the school premises.

The condition of the building has been repeatedly brought to the authorities’ attention. Assistant teacher Pawan Kumar Choudhary said the education department and other officials had been informed several times, while villagers have also held protests demanding action.

“After the pillar collapsed, benches and desks were used to support the roof. The danger remains,” Choudhary said.

Villager Parjit Yadav said repeated appeals had been made over the safety of the children. He warned that residents would launch an agitation if a new building was not constructed soon.

Headmaster Rajendra Kumar said the school had contacted officials from the block to the district level around five to six times. Written communications were also submitted, and officials inspected the premises, but no permanent repairs or replacement building had been provided at that point.

Government plans six-room replacement building

Darbhanga district education officer Vidyanand Thakur said the authorities had already initiated steps to address the problem and confirmed that the old building had been declared unsafe.

He said teaching activities were not being conducted in the unsafe structure.

“The existing two-room building was constructed as the first primary school in this village in 1983 under Operation Blackboard. At present, teaching is being conducted in the kitchen shed on the school premises,” Thakur said.

According to the DEO, an estimate for a replacement building has already been submitted to the department. A new six-room school building has been proposed and will be constructed by the Bihar School Infrastructure Development Corporation.

The old structure will subsequently be dismantled by the agency, Thakur said.

The school has also been included in the Bihar government’s ‘Seva Sankalp Evam Kayakalp Abhiyan’, under which government schools are being targeted for infrastructure improvements, including repairs, painting and construction of boundary walls where required.

Of Darbhanga district’s 2,585 government schools, 1,968 have been selected under the scheme, including 1,300 primary schools. The district also has 47 Sanskrit schools, 180 madrasas and more than 554 registered private schools, according to the DEO.

Students to be shifted to another school

The situation has since prompted further action from the education department. Following reports highlighting the unsafe condition of the Kiratpur school, authorities ordered that classes be shifted to Middle School Goswa from October 5. The decision followed an official inspection and was aimed at preventing children from studying in the unsafe premises.

An India Today ground report published on October 2 had also reported that the building had peeling plaster, cracks and exposed, rusted reinforcement bars, with benches and bricks being used around the collapsed pillar to support the roof. It said classes had been stopped in the affected portion and children were being taught under a tin shed.

The school’s building problems are not entirely new. A September 2025 report in Hindustan said portions of the dilapidated structure had been falling intermittently for years and that part of the verandah had collapsed, narrowly missing a Class V student. Local authorities had then been alerted and discussions were held on removing the unsafe structure and constructing replacement classrooms.