The severe rebuke of Uttarakhand High Court (HC) for failing to provide basic furniture for the students of the Government schools has caught the education department napping.
A harried department is now scrambling itself to provide furniture in all the schools. There are more than 17,000 Government schools in the state and almost half of these schools have no or less than sufficient furniture as compared with student strength. On Wednesday hearing on the condition of government schools was held at Uttarakhand High Court. Representing the State Government the Advocate General (AG) presented the details of the financial health of the department and the budget needed to provide furniture and other amenities in all the schools. AG informed the court that Chief Minister would put up the issue of budget to the schools before the cabinet. The hearing on the issue would continue on Thursday.
In the previous hearings in the court criticized the government for failing to provide required budget to the schools. It expressed concern that students many schools are still deprived of the basic furniture needed for study.
Stung by negative comments from the court the department has sprung into action. The State Education Minister Arvind Pandey has directed the department to provide furniture in all schools. He claimed that basic furniture in all the schools would be provided within three months. He has asked the department to take help of social organisations and business houses to meet the arduous task of providing furniture in all the schools. The department is also reaching out to the industrial houses to provide basic furniture to the government schools under funds available in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
The urgency shown by the High Court on the issue has pleased the educationists and common people. U S Gusain, a retired Principal of a government school said, “It is unfortunate that the government has failed to provide chair and desks to the students even after seventy years of independence.
In thousands of schools of the state the students are still getting education sitting on mats. The court’s concern is appreciable but it remains to be seen how seriously the Government takes the matter.’’