Since the launch of our campaign 'Pass Ya Fail?' an audit of the Right to Education Act in India, our Community Correspondents have been busy visiting schools in their areas to document the ground level challenges in getting children access to education. This video report comes from Jhagrahi village, Komna block in Odisha's Nuapada District. Community Correspondent Abhishek Dash visited the Purana Bastipada school to see how things were working. When super cyclone Phailin hit Odisha in October 2013, this school was one of thousands of properties damaged. While most of the building survived, the kitchen got destroyed. It had been constructed specifically to meet the RTE guidelines, a covered space to prepare mid-day meals for students. Now after months of trying, there are still no results. The Mid-day meal scheme still carries on. The kitchen has been shifted indoors and the students and staff made the necessary adjustments. The teacher in charge, Rajendra Tandi describes that this has its own problems, like disturbing children while classes go on. "I feel so bad to discuss this kitchen... many TV journalists and politicians have come to see the condition of this kitchen. We have filed complaints too... but nothing has happened", he says. The other major concern is that the school has no boundary wall. The school and its massive playground are next to a major road that was constructed some time ago. With traffic now moving fast through the area, Rajendra worries that one of his students might get hurt should they decide to run and play near the road. The next step is to make this school safe for the students here. Correspondent Abhishek Dash is going to his bit by taking this video to the authorities. You can do yours by picking up the phone and making a phone call. Call to Action: Please call Mr Nakul Sabarjee, the Block Education Officer on 08018365047 and ask him to make sure that the school gets all the facilities it needs.
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