Purana Tulail (Gurez), Aug 13: The Government Higher Secondary School, Purana Tulail in Gurez Valley of Bandipora district is lacking basic infrastructure and facilities like drinking water and toilets, due to which, the students and teachers are facing immense hardships.
 The educational institution, wherein 200 students are currently enrolled, is presently functioning from the ramshackled fiber building constructed by Army under the project ‘Sadbhavana.’ Locals as well as teachers complain that the school is located on high altitude. “Being the only government run school in the area, the students have to tread 20 kilometers to reach to the educational institution everyday,” the locals told Greater Kashmir.
  “The school was established in 1979 and was upgraded from Primary School to Middle School in the year 1993. The school was later upgraded to High School in the year 1998 and got the Higher Secondary status in 2008, with no improvement in infrastructure. Its upgraded status has in fact added to the problems of the students and the teaching staff,” the locals said.
 “In the absence of adequate classrooms, most of the classes are being held in the open. There is no staff room, store and playground. At times, classes are called off when it rains and also during scorching heat," said a teacher on the conditions of anonymity.
 "Earlier, we used to conduct classes in two shifts, but in 2009, three new classrooms, including a computer laboratory were constructed by the Army under its ‘Sadbhavana’ programme, which helped us to conduct all classes in one shift.  But the buildings is in bad shape and we have stopped to hold class work fearing about any untoward incident", the teacher said.
 “There is neither any facility of laboratory nor library to provide textbooks to the students,” the locals said adding the school is also facing shortage of teaching staff.
  “The work on the boundary wall of the school, which was dismantled by the authorities for widening of the main road, with a promise that it would be reconstructed, hasn’t started yet,” the locals added.
  “Although there is a tap inside the school premises, but its lying defunct,” the locals said adding the students and the teachers have to visit neighbours to drink water.
  “We are managing by getting water from the locals, but that is insufficient. Immediate and permanent solution is required for solving this problem”, a teacher said.
  “We made several appeals the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department seeking supply of water to the school, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” the teachers told Greater Kashmir.
 Another major problem confronted by the students is that the toilets of the school are in pathetic condition. “Stink continuously emanates from the toilets making it almost difficult for the students to use them,” the teachers said.
 "We apprised the senior functionaries of the Directorate of School Education and District Administration about, infrastructural deficiencies, other shortcomings in the school including the shortage of staff, but they always gave us hollow assurances and completely failed to do anything substantial to mitigate the problems of the students and teachers,” the locals added.
 When contacted, Sub Divisional Magistrate Gurez, Muhammad Ashraf Hakak told Greater Kashmir that the new buildings for the school would be constructed in new academic year. Besides the water supply system is being restored in the school, he added.

Reports Compiled by SUHAIL AJMAL

Lastupdate on : Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST