From the frying pan to the fire

There are 400 students and 17 teachers in this village school near Chandigarh.

There are no desks and chairs in the courtyard and students now sit on the floor. There are no mats and blackboards in the school either.

No recent repair work has also been initiated by the authorities.

The 40-year-old building,which is spread across an acre,was declared unsafe by the Public Works Department; but until last week,classes were held inside the building.

Although eight of the total 13 classrooms were vacated and classes held outside after the building was declared unsafe,they were once again shifted inside after it started to rain.

“We have been asked to vacate the unsafe classrooms again,” said school principal Parneet Kaur.

In the absence of any alternate arrangement,the classes are being held in the open,she added.

The principal’s office has also been declared unsafe. “We are also made to sit in the open or the verandah,” said economics teacher Gurinder Preet Kaur. “Parents had objected when he had shifted the classes outside. Now we don’t know what to do,” said Punjabi teacher Harminder Pal Singh.

The temporary repairs conducted by some villagers and parents at their own cost to make their children study under a roof were also washed away in the recent rains.

Labourer Pal Khan’s son,Rubal,is a Class XII student. “Till our son returns home,we keep fearing for his life” he said.

Like Khan,most parents are so poor that they cannot afford to shift their wards to other private schools in the area.

But despite all odds,the school has shown excellent results over the years.

All its students cleared the 2010 Class X and XII board exams,and six girl students scored between 90-99 per cent marks in mathematics.

Officialspeak
“Since the High Court is already apprised of the matter,I can not comment,” said Krishan Kumar,Special Secretary-cum-Director General,School Education,Punjab.

“This is not the only such school; six to seven more schools in the district and many others in other districts of Punjab are also functioning from unsafe buildings. We have sought funds from the government to construct new buildings,and till then,we have requested village panchayats to provide alternate places to conduct classes,” said Niranjan Singh,District Education Officer (Secondary),Mohali.

HC notice
Taking suo motu notice of the news report in Jansatta,the Hindi daily of the Express Group,a Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court,comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari had on July 16 sought details from the states of Punjab and Haryana with regard to infrastructure and other issues.

“We are of the view that taking into account the enormity of problems that poor students studying in government schools are facing,it would be appropriate to convert this public interest litigation (PIL) into an all-state exercise,” the HC order read.

The Punjab and Haryana governments have been directed to file affidavits stating the present state of infrastructure in government schools in both states. Affidavits will also state the provision for mid-day meals in the schools,the Bench had ruled.

“Education now being a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution,it is evident that education provided in state schools must meet basic necessities that have been designated. How many working days of teachers of government schools are utilised in non-educational activities?” the court has asked the states.

(With inputs from Raghav Ohri and Harjeet Singh)