Adil Lateef
Srinagar, May 13: Aspiring to be a teacher, a boy hailing from North Kashmir’s Baramulla district lost eye sight in two separate incidents in his school and has been left unattended by the Education Department. The family of the boy has demanded compensation for his treatment.
Narrating his ordeal, the class 8th student, Muhammad Nadeem Sheikh of Ashtishampora locality of Boniyar in Baramulla district said his right eye was affected in August 2011 when teacher hit him accidentally with a stick. “We were having fun in the class. Two students started a fight with each other and created indiscipline. This irritated the teacher who was sitting outside classroom and he hurled a stick towards these students but one of them ducked and it hit right into my eye,” he said.
Following the incident, the student was operated upon at SMHS Hospital and the doctors managed to restore his 20 percent eyesight. The uncle of the boy said that the teacher who hurled the stick contributed few thousand rupees but there was no help from Government.
Five years after the incident, it was Nadeem’s left eye which now met tragic fate and that again in the classroom. “On March 15 this year, he said, “the teacher checked my copy and I was coming back after receiving it but before I could turn to reach my seat my foot stuck in the mat and I fell on the empty easel and the nail pierced my eye. My eye was bleeding profusely but none came to help.”
Nadeem, who was a student of Government Middle School Boniyar, said it was his aunt who came for his help and took him to the hospital. The boy’s uncle said 1.5 inch nail damaged his left eye completely and his eye ball broke into pieces.
Nadeem wanted to become a teacher but these two tragic incidents have left him hopeless. “I can only sense lights around and nothing else. My hopes of becoming teacher have been dashed. ,” he said. With these two incidents, the boy’s urge to carry on his studies have come to standstill as he is unable to attend his school due to blindness.
The school teachers, however, expressed helplessness when they were asked about the financial help to the affected boy. “We are working here as teachers and much isn’t in our hands. However, we have submitted a report to Zonal Education Officer after verification. Let us see what happens further,” said one of the teachers.
Ironically, when Excelsior contacted Chief Education Officer Baramulla, Mushtaq Ahmad, he feigned ignorance about the boy and the tragedy that has befallen on him. “I don’t know anything about this…I have to check. Right now I am in Gulmarg with Mantri ji (Minister),” he replied. When tried to seek his comment, the mobile number of Director School Education Kashmir was switched off.
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