Odisha’s Minister of School and Mass Education, Nityananda Gond, dropped a pretty worrying statistic in the Assembly: 1,763 primary classrooms across the state are in poor condition. This came out after MLA Souvic Biswal pressed the issue, and that is a huge gap in how safe and welcoming these schools really are for young kids.
The report identified specific regions where the infrastructure issues are most acute. Sambalpur leads with 175 primary classrooms in bad shape, then Mayurbhanj has 122, and Sonepur isn’t far behind at 107. Cuttack, Kalahandi, and Ganjam are also seeing pretty high figures. The breakdown makes it clear—this isn’t just a problem in one corner, it’s everywhere, cutting across both coastal and tribal regions.
When it comes to fixing things, the government has split the job between two departments. Urban schools go under the Housing and Urban Development Department, while schools in rural areas fall under Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department. The idea is to make repairs faster, retain students, ensuring safe environment.
This disclosure really shakes up the education sector in the state. While the government has assigned departments to handle the repairs, the sheer number of unserviceable classrooms suggest a need for rapid funding and strict timelines. At the end of the day, giving kids solid, safe classrooms is basic—without that, you can’t really talk about improving education or getting more students through the door.