Another year of hardships for some teachers of Sherzhong Primary School in Gelegphu has begun. They will have to continue to live in classrooms. The teachers’ quarters, they were supposed to shift in, is still incomplete. The four unit two-storied building was to be completed last year.
A teacher, Khem Kumar Chhetri, walks half an hour everyday to get to school. He says it is difficult to get to school and home during rainy season. “I was hopeful about shifting to teachers’ quarters this year.”
Another teacher Pabi Ghalley, who is a mother, has been sharing a classroom with six other people. “My baby has difficulty sleeping at night because of disturbance. And his cries in the afternoon disturb the classes.”
She also said she cannot invite her friends and family over because of space crunch.
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The problem does not end there for her. She said she encounters many snakes while going to the bathroom which is located outside.
The construction of the building had begun in 2011. The Principal, Tashi Wangdi, said their hands are tied. “We don’t have enough government quarters around. Because it is a village there is no rental facility.”
The Contractor said they couldn’t meet the deadline because of labour shortage. He said the shortage arose due to ethnic riots that took place across the border. He said it also resulted in the shortage of building materials.
But this time, he said, the building will be completed within a month.
