Signage on the one-story constructing proudly publicizes: Government Elementary Smart School, Kukenet. However, the signal, surrounded by a large number of stars painted on both facet, is the one ‘good’ factor in regards to the village faculty.
Nestled within the foothills of Shivaliks within the Kandi belt close to the border of Himachal Pradesh in Hoshiarpur, Kukanet village is slowly gaining a popularity amongst nature lovers as Punjab’s finest stored secret. The “Forest Village”, with its untouched forests and an enormous potential for eco-tourism, nonetheless, presents an image of despair with its ‘good’ faculty, which is managed by a single trainer.
To hold stray animals out and college students inside, academics have give you a novel ‘jugaad’ – items of bamboo tied throughout the campus with ropes forming a “boundary” wall, which is “reinforced”. Has been and ‘ bolstered at strategic factors together with different discarded merchandise similar to previous benches, wood chairs.
But why this ‘jugaad’ for the newly constructed “smart” faculty?
Mukesh Kumar, the only real headmaster of the college, says that he has not but acquired funds for the development of the boundary wall, though it has been a yr for the reason that faculty constructing was constructed. There is not any rest room within the information constructing.
The faculty turns right into a cattle shed, stray animals enter the campus even throughout faculty hours, typically even leaping over bamboo fences. The dung heap outdoors the college is a sworn statement to how the campus turns right into a shed each night time.
The “Forest Village”, with its untouched forests and an enormous potential for eco-tourism, nonetheless, presents an image of despair with its ‘good’ faculty, which is managed by a single trainer. (Express photograph by Divya Goyal Gopal)
“Strange animals keep sitting in the premises and that is why we have got these bamboos installed. How do we keep children inside all the time when there is no boundary wall? There is a road in front of the school and it becomes very dangerous when children try to run outside,” says Kumar.
Classes 1 to five at school. as much as 41 college students
“We have written at least 6-7 times to the panchayat and education department that it is unsafe for the students and the boundary wall needs to be built immediately. But no action has been taken so far. So we had no option but to plant bamboo and for that too we paid the laborers out of our own pocket,” he provides.
The trainer additional says that in the course of the rains the state of affairs turns into so pathetic that the animals bounce into the constructing by leaping over the bamboo fence. “Even the parents ask us why we cannot get the boundary wall constructed. They send their children to school, not to the cattle shed. What if a stray bull attacks a child? Who will be responsible,” he asks.
There is not any class IV workers or sweeper on this single trainer faculty. The filth left by the animals turns into one other headache for Kumar. “Sometimes we request the panchayat to clean it and other times we hire labourers. Teaching and sweeping both are not possible,” says Kumar.
More than 2900 faculties nonetheless with out boundary wall
Presenting this yr’s finances, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had stated that greater than 2900 authorities faculties within the state nonetheless shouldn’t have boundary partitions, and one other 2400 want funds for speedy wall repairs. “Schools should be safe and secure places, especially for girl students. Our survey shows that there are still 2,728 rural schools and 212 urban schools that need a new boundary wall and there are 2,310 rural schools and 93 urban schools where the boundary wall needs immediate repair. A budget allocation of Rs 424 crore has been made in this budget for this purpose,” Cheema stated.
The finances has not but reached the faculties.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
