No building, no benches: Gaya primary school runs from temple for 28 years

For nearly three decades, children of a Bihar government school studied on the ground inside a temple complex. Teachers, students and villagers said repeated pleas were ignored despite daily risks and lack of facilities.

For 28 years, children at Baksu Bigha Primary School in Gaya district have been studying sitting on the bare ground inside a roadside temple complex, exposed to scorching heat, biting cold and monsoon rain.

The school, located in Baksu Bigha village near Kendui on the Gaya–Bodhgaya road, has been functioning from the temple premises since 1998 without a building of its own.

Despite claims of improved governance and education in Bihar, students from Classes 1 to 5 continue to attend lessons under a tree or in the open temple courtyard.

Some children sit inside the temple during rain, while others remain outdoors, surrounded by dust and noise from the busy road.

Baksu Bigha Primary School has 94 enroled students and five teachers. There are no classrooms, benches or blackboards.

All children sit on the ground to study. Drinking water is drawn from a hand pump located inside the temple complex, and the school has no toilet facilities.