The decrepit classroom of Class 6A at Habback High School of Kandhamal’s G Udaygiri block these days does not ring with the voices of children. With the classroom turned into a kitchen storeroom, all that one can hear is the clang of utensils and see a couple of gas cylinders jostling for space with sacks of potatoes and onions. The adjacent classroom of Std 7A is chock-a-block with khaki-clad jawans of Orissa State Armed Police while several other such rooms are populated by either jawans or people who have lost their home and hearth in the riots.It's not just their daily lives that have been torn asunder by the riots that started two months ago, the studies of their children have also been hit badly as the schools have turned into relief camps. Even the 6,500-odd CRPF jawans and several hundred securitymen of Orissa State Armed Police have moved into atleast 40 such schools in the strife-torn district. With schools turning into camps for CRPF, OSAP and 14,000 riot victims, the education of children studying there has come to a grinding halt.Like several others in the relief camp at the Habback High School in Udaygiri, Jakera Nayak is worried about his 15-year-old son, a student of Std 6 at the same school where he has taken refuge after his house in Bakingia village was burnt by a mob. So is Yuvaraj Nayak, whose daughter Priyadarshini, a Std 10 student of Raikia's St Catherine High School, has not been able to go to her school for more than two months. “We could just save our lives. Who had the time to think about the books?” asked Yuvaraj, now cooped up with his wife, son and daughter in a 20x20 sq ft camp roofed with polythene sheet along with 30 others.The schools turning into relief camps has meant that all examinations that were supposed to be conducted in October have not been possible.So Priyadarshini, who was supposed to sit for her pre-test before the matriculation examination in 2009, could not take her exam. But she may consider herself a little more fortunate as compared to Sabita Pradhan, Gayatri Pradhan and Sarala Nayak, who are taking their supplementary examination while staying in the relief camp at G Udaygiri. “I don't know whether I will pass the examination. It looks like I have to take the exam again next year,” said Nayak.Though Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar insists that alternative arrangements have been made for the affected students in the riots, it is not enough. Though the Government expects to wind up the relief camp at the soonest, the authorities are unsure how long the victims would remain in relief camps. According to an estimate, over 2,000 students could suffer due to the ongoing trouble in the district.Over the past two months the officials have faced angry protests from tribals who want the schools re-opened for their children.Even if the schools were to reopen now, they would take some time to get ready for the children as the classrooms are still pockmarked with stains of drying laundry, cooking pots and scattered food. Women gave birth while putting up in the schools while a few others lived there with infants.Government officials agree that while escaping, the riot victims would never have thought of carrying their children's textbooks. “Even now, our first worry is to rebuild the homes and piece together our destroyed life,” said Philip Nayak of Maluhpanga village under Raikia block. Parents who have lost all their belongings and resources are faced with serious challenges to send their children back to school.With their minds focussed on rebuilding their homes, children's education would surely be the last thing in their list of priorities.
