Kangan, Sep 10: Much to the embarrassment of government, particularly the education department, one of the government schools in the Kangan area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district is lacking proper accommodation.
Government high school Hayan in Kangan sub division of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district here is functioning from a dilapidated building and a temporary tin shed due to which both the students and staff face inconvenience and the conditions are adversely affecting the education of students here. According to the locals, the school was previously functioning from a building which is also in a dilapidated condition, however in 2012 it was upgraded to High School level and since then the department has failed to upgrade its infrastructure and construct a permanent school building. They said the department constructed a temporary tin shed to accommodate students. They further said that even the land for the building was provided by a local resident, however the building couldn’t be constructed as the irrigation and flood control department denied permission for the same, as according to them, it was close to river Sindh. However, the locals questioned why the school building was denied permission when so many structures have come up along Sindh. Official sources said that there are about 200 students (both boys and girls) studying in the government high school Hayan and all of them are mostly from poor families who can’t afford to admit their wards in other schools, adding that the lack of accommodation and other requisite facilities are affecting the education of the students.
The students said they were facing difficulties in attending classes in the tin shed and lack of other basic facilities has affected their studies. “On rainy days, our problems aggravate as rainwater enters the tin shed we study in. The authorities have ignored us” students told Greater Kashmir.
The students said in hot summers, the tin shed emits lot of heat. “The temperature inside the tin shed goes up making us sweat in sweltering heat. The authorities claiming to have spent crores on building infrastructure have failed to raise school building for accommodation,” said a student. “Despite best of efforts from teachers, we can’t concentrate on our studies due to chaos as students of nearly 3 to 4 classes study in same shed,” another student said.
“The students have to bear the brunt of lack of space, as they have to sometimes attend the classes under the open sky and the staff members also find it immensely difficult to accommodate students in these temporary tin sheds,” a local resident said.
They said even there are no toilet facilities for female students. “We had apprised every official of the education department about the issue but nothing substantial has been done yet. Our wards are studying in harsh conditions, and it will affect their studies” a local, Ghulam Rasool said. “It is unfortunate that since 2012 the school is without a proper building. The concerned authorities should take measures to redress this problem “Showket Khan, a social activist said.
Chief Education Officer Ganderbal Abdul Majid Kohli admitted that the school has accommodation problems, and said that the land available for the school building was close to nallah Sindh and the concerned Irrigation and Flood Control department didn’t provide NOC for construction which delayed the process. He said that now the department has identified land at another place and almost all the formalities have been completed. “Hopefully next year the work on the school building will start. It is a genuine demand from the students as well as locals” CEO said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal Shyambir Singh told Greater Kashmir that he will look into the issue on priority and assured that the grievances of students will be resolved. “You have brought it into my notice, I will get feedback from the concerned officials and whatever is required will be done on priority so that the students shouldn’t suffer”, the DC told Greater Kashmir.
