64% government schools in JK sans electricity

Riddled with infrastructure deficit, 64 percent government owned schools in Jammu and Kashmir are without electricity.

According to official data compiled by the Union HumanResources Ministry, just 36 percent of the government schools in Jammu andKashmir have electricity connections, while the remaining craving for thisfacility.

   

The figures reveal that J&K is far behind the nationalaverage of electrified schools, which is 63 percent.

Even the backward states such as Bihar, Jharkhand,Uttarkhand and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh have higher rate of schools havingelectricity connections.

In Bihar, 46 percent schools have electricity connections.In Uttarkhand the rate is 75 percent, Jharkhand 48 percent and Himachal Pradesh92 percent.

Ironically, according to the union ministry figures, inthree financial years, Jammu and Kashmir has not been able to electrify even a singleelementary school in the state.

As per the website of the School Education Department,J&K has a total of 22,627 schools. These include 14,171 primary, 6,665upper primary, 1194 high and 597 higher secondary schools.

A senior Power Development Department informed that during ahigh level meeting with officials of Education Department few months back, itwas decided that schools without electricity will be provided with the facilityunder the government category which entails no connection charges.

“However all usage bills raised thereafter shall be borne bythe School Education Department”.

Recently, the Directorate of School Education had asked theCEOs in Kashmir to enter into an agreement with the PDD for electrification ofall schools in a time-bound manner. It may be mentioned that last year studentsof 12th grade at some schools were forced to write their annual examinationpapers under solar lights, smart phone torches and even candles, inbone-chilling condition in the month of November as it was a dark cloudy day.

The pictures purportedly showing students writing papersunder torch lights and candles had gone viral on the social media.

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