Nambla (Uri), Jan 18: Every morning when the clock strikes 9, Aijaz rushes to school. The concerns are more for getting space in the classroom than reaching late.
 In 2005 earthquake, the first floor of the school comprising five rooms suffered maximum damages rendering it useless for class work. Now, the 5-room Government High School, here is the only educational institution in the village catering to more than 375 students passing out from 15 primary schools every year.
 In absence of proper accommodation, the students are ‘flocked’ in the classrooms and one who fails to reach early has to sit outside in all weather conditions.
 The problem does not end here. There are only two specialized teachers out of the 10 faculty members in this school which is located in the last village on this side of Kashmir. Lack of teaching equipments including blackboards, charts and maps is also causing problems for the students.
 Villagers remember that the present PHE minister and local MLA, Taj Mohi-ud-Din had promised Rs 10 lakh for renovation of the building. “Except promises nothing reached this remote habitation,” said a teacher.
 Ejaz, a class 10th student, and his batch mates are worried about their future. “Lack of facilities constantly hurt us. How can we study in such an environment?” he said.
 The school lacks even basic facilities like potable water, toilets and washroom facilities.
 The school lacks even basic amenities like potable water, toilets and washroom and receives erratic power supply. “The power shortage render computers unused for most part of the day,” the students added.
 In 2005, the first floor of the school building was completely damaged in the devastating earthquake. Later the government had set up temporary pre-fabricated sheds in the premises of the institution to be used as classrooms, but they were removed shortly thereafter.
 The villagers said they took up the problems faced by the students on several occasions, but nothing substantial had been done till this day. 
 When contacted, the Director School Education, Shagufta Parveen said the renovation of the school was in progress and another building was expected to come up by March this year. She said the school had been provided with generators to tackle the power problems.
 To counter the dearth of staff, she said the Chief Education Officer sends teachers from other government schools where the number of students is low. “The teacher-student ratio in this school is 1:37; which I don’t think is dismal. At the national level, it is 1:40”, she concluded.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 IST