Only one room in this school building in Faizabad can be used says the teacher
Despite the NDA government's focus on Uttar Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi making three trips to the state and showering infrastructure projects worth thousands of crores, a desolate and dilapidated school building in Faizabad has its own story to tell. Around 55 children and only one teacher spend their days in a building, which is falling apart.
"A total of 55 students study here. I teach them in one room as no other room is in a usable condition. There are no toilets, fans or facility of clean drinking water in the school," Mukesh Kumar Yadav, the primary school teacher told news agency ANI.
Mr Yadav who teaches all the classes from one to eight says, he knocked on the doors of many officers in Faizabad about the critical condition of the school, but none responded.
"My duty is to teach children, whatever the circumstances," says Mr Yadav
Apart from the pathetic state of the building, there is no clean drinking water and fans. And cattle stroll into the classroom as there is no boundary wall.
Mr Yadav alleges the number of dropouts is increasing because it is difficult for students to engage in regular studies.
When asked how the school manages to run in spite of the shabby state, Mr Yadav said that being a teacher, it is his "duty to impart knowledge to his students in all circumstances."
The Prime Minister in his recent visit to the state announced major infrastructure projects ahead of the 2019 parliamentary polls in eastern UP. He launched the six-lane Purvanchal Expressway, which will connect Lucknow with the economically less developed districts like Faizabad, Azamgarh, Mau, Ghazipur with the state capital.