Mubashir Naik
Established in 2004, Government middle school Bani, Gondoh, District Doda is in such a dilapidated condition that it is on the verge of collapse, posing a threat to students’ lives. But the neglect continues
The school which has more than 50 students at present, has been ignored since it was established.
The people of the area have been requesting the authorities and government officials to repair and construct a new building for years, but their requests have fallen on deaf ears.
“We are more than forty families living in this village & Our children want to study but the infrastructure of the schools is in a bad condition. The building can collapse at any time and We fear we may lose our children. Nobody is listening to our problems,” Zafarulla Ahmed, a resident of the area told The Kashmiriyat.
Last year people of the area themselves build two to three rooms for these children but it not possible to accommodate all these students in these rooms. Few students are still taking their classes in the old building.
The school might fall if not repaired soon. He told The Kashmiriyat over a phone call.
The school in question seems straight out of an earthquake-ravaged nightmare: The half rooftops, the plaster of cement and mud has peeled off exposing the stones and bricks beneath. Waiting for the much awaited disaster.
The standard of education is very bad in this area and government has ever given any consideration to these far flung areas, according to Mehraj Malik, a recently elected DDC member from the area.
“We have a high school in Tillogra, Where we have only one room for more than hundreds students & near about one dozen staff member. Most of the children are being taught under open sky and if there is rain, children are sent to their home early. Though the government had built a school in this area but just for a formality, 80% of these buildings are damaged”.
“Our children will lose a chance to better their lives if they aren’t educated. In the absence of quality infrastructure of Education, they will be forced to become laborers to work on roads & in industries like us,” told a local resident
“The government always claims that they are investing a lot of time and money on education and have established Schools at Local level. But does the government think that doing all this on paper can change ground reality? Yes, we have schools but they represent the image of ruins. Even animals can stay there. How is it possible for our children to study in these buildings?,” said Mehraj.
Education brings jobs and helps to eradicate poverty from the society. But to qualify for these jobs, the students of the area need education. Most the students studying in these schools belong middle class families, who can’t afford to send there children outside the state or even their villages to study.