Admn unmoved, education of students suffer
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 13: Despite being the first school in the area established in the ’60s, the Government Boys Middle School in Dargam, Pattan tehsil of Baramulla district, is currently operating with just four rooms for nearly 125 students, adversely affecting their studies.
Residents informed Excelsior that four school classrooms have been allocated for eight classes and ten staff members, with just one washroom belonging to an old building, making it nearly impossible for their children to receive a quality education.
“The old school building was damaged in an earthquake a decade ago. The first building was constructed in 1997; before that, the school was in rented accommodation since 1960. After a decade of pursuing the matter with authorities, they sent a team of engineers to inspect the school. Subsequently, in 2019, the engineers declared it unsafe,” said one resident, Muhammad Altaf.
He mentioned that in 2021-22, the authorities constructed four rooms for eight classes, which, he said, is not sufficient for providing the best quality education for the children.
It is to be noted here that the school operates uniquely, with some classes told to stay home during rains due to space constraints. The kitchen of mid-day meals is also operating from a makeshift shed.
Muhammad Akbar Parray, a senior citizen of the area, also highlighted the issue of inadequate washroom facilities in the school’s new building, stating that earlier, authorities had mentioned that the proposal for the new six-room building had been forwarded to the Government, but approval had not been received.
Residents further lamented: “Sometimes classes are held in the corridor, and the lone toilet washroom is insufficient for 125 students and 10 staff members, including female students. Despite promises, no progress has been made.”
Another resident, Hassan Wani, said that the Education Department initially assured them of sufficient space, “but later tendered only four rooms, possibly in response to various complaints lodged by the locals.”
The residents said that due to space constraints at the school, lower classes are losing out on education, affecting the quality of education, and the number of children who are out of school could also increase.
“The financial condition of the residents is not such that they would send their children to private schools. We also want them to achieve new heights, but the reality is that in all these years, we have not produced a single doctor, an engineer, let alone an IAS officer,” said another resident, Abdul Aziz Wani.
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