Gurugram, Sept. 18 -- About 90 kilometres from Gurugram's DLF Cyber City, in Gokalpur village of Nuh's Ferozepur Jhirka block, stands a two-storey government middle school where teachers and students have been struggling for space despite a half-finished building towering over them. For nine years, the upper floor has remained locked in time, not because of structural damage or safety concerns, but for a reason hard to believe: no staircase was ever built to reach it. The missing staircase has rendered five classrooms inaccessible since 2017-2018, when the first floor was constructed, students and staff claim. The result: 500 children from classes I to VIII, and their seven teachers, are forced to squeeze into just five usable classrooms on the ground floor, often spilling into corridors where rain, heat and winter winds regularly disrupt lessons. To be sure, as per Haryana government policy, maximum 50 students should be in a classroom and the school requires at least 10 classrooms for accommodating them comfortably. Anyone visiting the school is greeted by a vibrant ground floor painted in the tricolour, with children playing in lively corridors and walls adorned with slogans and colourful drawings. But a stark contrast emerges just above-- bare brick walls, cobwebs, and dark, empty rooms now inhabited by bats during the day. The school's senior teacher, Satbir Kumar, said the situation has left both staff and students helpless. "We sometimes feel bad looking at the building, as there is more than enough infrastructure in the form of classrooms on the ground and first floors. However, none have been able to use them in all these years; no access staircase was ever built to reach the first floor. Thus, the five more classrooms there have been lying unused since the time they got constructed," he added. The lack of space forces classes into corridors, turning education into chaos whenever the weather turns harsh. "In monsoon, we sometimes have to stop the classes as rain lashes the corridors. Students move inside the room to avoid getting drenched, same for winters and summers," Satbir said. For residents of Gokalpur, the unfinished building has become a symbol of neglect. Javed Khan, a villager, said the solution was neither complicated nor expensive. "Just with an expenditure of a few thousand rupees, a staircase could be built. We have made the authorities aware of the scenario on several occasions, but no action has been taken yet," he said, adding that the wasted space deprives their children of proper learning conditions. The school building, officials and teachers said, was constructed at an estimated cost of nearly Rs.25-30 lakh from the public exchequer. The original ground floor came up in 2010, and as the student strength increased, the education department sanctioned expansion. Around 2017-2018, a contractor built the first floor along with another block adjacent to the main building. But two critical lapses rendered both additions unusable: the staircase for the upper floor was never constructed, and the roof of the adjacent building was left incomplete. "As a result, neither the first floors rooms could be ever put to use, nor the other construction lying incomplete even after the exchequer's money was spent," said another teacher, who preferred not to be named. An education department official, also requesting anonymity, said that while most of the contractor's payment had been cleared, disputes over pending dues led to the work being abandoned midway and the contractor intentionally didn't construct the staircase for a revenge. "However, it was yet not clear what unfolded afterwards between authorities and the contractor that the work remained incomplete. The students and teachers continue to suffer in the same space which was earlier available to them even when funds were spent for the school's expansion," the official said. The matter has now reached Nuh's district education office. District education officer Rohtas Verma admitted to receiving complaints not only about the missing staircase but also about leaking roofs and walls in the classrooms currently in use. "There are complaints of seepage during rain which creates trouble for everyone. In addition to it, I have also come to know about the issue of the missing staircase for accessing the first floor," Verma said. "I will get the matter inquired and take necessary steps for the construction of stairs and required repair works. A team of a sub-divisional officer and junior engineer will be sent there to get the construction works done. Old records need to be accessed to ascertain which contractor was engaged in its construction, what payment was made and what dispute led to the scenario that there is no staircase," Verma added. For now, however, the situation remains unchanged: hundreds of children continue to study in cramped corridors, while bats and cobwebs occupy rooms meant for them, in a school where public money-built classrooms no one can reach....