There are 142 primary schools in Koyra with 29,000 students, while 32 secondary and three junior secondary schools with 13,000 students, according to sources at the district education office said.
Although a handful of tube-wells is operative but no-one could drink water from those tube-wells due to high salinity. This crisis has reached a tipping point as people are demanding that measures be taken on an emergency basis.
In order to resolve the problem of drinking water and protect children from arsenic poisoning, the government installed non-arsenic ring tube-wells at the public primary schools in the area under the PEDP-2 project in the 2013-14 financial year.
Almost Tk 1 lakh was spent on setting up each of the tube-wells.
Locals alleged that the tube-wells remained out of order as they were installed in an unplanned way.
Sources at the upazila primary education office said the tube-wells installed in various primary and secondary government schools in Modinabad Model, Goriabari, Monoroma, Koyra-6, Kashir Khal Dhar, Pathor Khali, Koyra-4, Koyra-3, Botul Bazar, Khejur Bagh, Siddikia, Mothbari, Hayatkhali, Uttarochok, Hodda DM, Pollimongol, Choukuni, Kalikapur, Bhagba and Gilabari areas have become unusable.
None of these tube-wells is coming to any use for the students and teachers, said locals.
Mentioning that there were faults while installing the tube-wells, Sukumar Thandar, headteacher of Goriabari Government Primary School, said the tube-wells worked just for a few days after they had been set up.
“The tube-wells were not installed at a depth that was required. Although there’s some water during monsoon, they’re absolutely dry in other seasons. Even if you can pump out water with a lot of effort, the salinity is too high for drinking,” he added.
According to Khogendranath Mondol, headteacher of Monoroma Government Primary School, the tube-well that was installed in the school is now out of order.
“Although there was a tube-well installed at my school, the water is too salty to drink. So, students only wash their hands and face with that water,” said Md Younus Ali, headteacher of Borobari Government Primary School.
As there is a drinking water crisis, Md Shaheb Ali, a guardian of a student at Goriabari Government Primary School, said almost all the schools are suffering from this problem.
The higher authorities have been informed about it and the tube-wells will be repaired once the budget is allocated, said Md Abul Bashar, education officer of Koyra upazila.