Dilapidated Tin-Shed Classrooms at Diabari Government Primary School Put Students at Risk, Two Injured as Ceiling Fan Falls

Young students are being taught in unsafe conditions in the dilapidated classrooms of Diabari Government Primary School in Harirampur upazila of Manikganj. Two students were injured when a ceiling fan fell from above.

The accident occurred around 10:30am on Monday, November 9. Amir Hamza, a second-grade student, was seriously injured. He is the son of Mohammad Sirajul Islam of Diabari village. He was immediately taken to Harirampur Upazila Health Complex for treatment. Another student of the same class, named Arko, was also injured in the incident. He received first aid and was sent home.

According to school sources, classes were underway around 10:30am when a ceiling fan broke loose and fell beside the students. The blades of the moving fan struck Amir Hamza on the nose and eye, leaving him seriously injured. Another student named Arko was also hurt.

Assistant teacher Robiul Kajal said the school’s tin-shed building had been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. Tin sheets in several parts of the building had been damaged, allowing rainwater to enter even during light rainfall. Although some repairs had previously been carried out, they had not been effective.

“We have to conduct classes while putting our students at risk. The old and dilapidated building needs to be rebuilt to ensure a safe classroom environment for the students,” he said.

Assistant teacher Lutfor Rahman, who is in charge in the absence of the headteacher, said a ceiling fan in the second-grade classroom had unexpectedly fallen, injuring two students with its blades.

He said the building had been in a dilapidated condition for a long time. About a month ago, they had submitted an application to the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) seeking repairs to the building.

“The building needs to be repaired as soon as possible. Otherwise, such an incident could happen again at any time. We have also verbally informed the upazila education officer about today’s incident,” he added.

Upazila Education Officer Md Saiful Islam said the incident was extremely unfortunate. However, he said budgets had been allocated twice before for the construction of a new school building, but the funds were returned due to complications over land ownership.

He said a shelter centre for flood-affected people had been built within the school premises. The land is jointly owned by the primary and secondary schools. Three rooms in the building were supposed to be allocated to the primary school, but the secondary school authorities were not allowing them to use the rooms.

“We are trying to take initiatives through discussions to ensure that our students can attend classes in that building. I also spoke to the upazila nirbahi officer about the matter today,” he said.

The school was established in 1924. The currently dilapidated tin-shed building was constructed in 1986. The school now has more than 200 students. However, teachers claim that student enrolment has fallen by half compared to previous years due to the poor condition of the building.