Studying under the Shadow of the Gun

8216;8216;Aaj subah kisi ko maar rahe the. Hamein bahut dar laga This morning, they the policemen were beating someone. We were very scared,8217;8217; says Ruksana, a Class IV student. 8216;8216;He was probably a thief and the policemen were very angry,8217;8217; she adds matter-of-factly.

A senior teacher, who preferred to remain anonymous, says: 8216;8216;We are certainly teaching under the shadow of the gun. At times, it becomes very difficult. When the police make arrests or conduct interrogations upstairs, students ask very uncomfortable questions8230;At times, we have to shut the doors and windows of classrooms.8217;8217;

The impact of their proximity to the securitymen is all too evident. All students who joined after 1990 are well-informed on the different types of guns and gadgets used by the police. For instance, a five-year-old student not only correctly identifies a wireless set being carried by a security official but also reels off the names of all types of big guns 8212; starting from the SLR to Kalashnikovs to Stenguns.

Although they would prefer the police station to be shifted out, the school administration says the situation is much better now. 8216;8216;We have seen worse days here. There was a time when grenades exploded next to our wall, forcing us to squeeze into a corner,8217;8217; recounts Makhan Lal Koul, an accounts officer at the school.

Koul adds: 8216;8216;We approached almost everyone, even the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao but nothing happened. Now, they are talking of shifting, because they have constructed a new complex8230;However, we have requested the police to avoid everything that could disrupt classwork or distract the students. They try their best to co-operate, but at times it becomes difficult for them as well.8217;8217;

And while there has not been a militant attack on the building so far, there is the perpetual fear of one. 8216;It is a fear both the teachers and parents live with,8217;8217; says Abdul Rasheed Mir, a parent of a student.

Ali Mohammed, a policeman, adds: 8216;8216;We try our best not to roam around with our guns because it scares the children. But what to do8230;8217;8217; A police officer who has worked here during the mid-8217;90s when militancy was at its peak adds: 8216;8216;There is very little chance of a militant attack because it can lead to casualties of school children.8217;8217;

Strange as it may seem, the Visva Bharti Girls School is not an isolated case. There are other cases of even the Army units sharing a building with a school. In fact, an entire RR camp is housed in a school at Magam, Handwara.

According to G.A. Peer, director of school education, Kashmir, till 8217;99, security forces occupied 91 educational institutions. 8216;8216;Then the Government made it a priority to evacuate the school buildings and hospitals. Today, we have only 36 buildings under their occupation,8217;8217; he says, adding, 8216;8216;in the prevailing situation, it is extremely dangerous for children to share their school building with the forces. There is a constant fear psychosis as the post can come under attack any time.8217;8217;

In several cases, Peer says, the department had to hire private buildings and shift the schools there. 8216;8216;Wherever the security forces say they have no alternative or it is strategically essential to occupy the school building, we are forced to make alternate arrangements,8217;8217; he adds.