The new J&K Government must concentrate on school education to make a difference to the youth, writes Basharat Hussain Shah Bukhari
Earlier in the month, the allocation of portfolios in the PDP-BJP coalition was announced. Major departments like Home, Finance and Education were allocated to the PDP Ministers by Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
Salotri, a rundown village in the border district of Poonch, is devoid of basic facilities like electricity, roads, telephone network, education and health infrastructure. This village it seems, has been left out of the development fold. With a multitude of issues to worry about, one of the primary concern is the poor state of education in the village.
“In a writing competition that was organised for the higher class students, the subject topic was given to them a week in advance. Yet, the results of the competition were not only shocking but saddening too. Only 22 of the 76 students appeared for the exam and a dismal 10 scored just over 50 per cent marks”, said Aneesul Haque, a social activist and the organiser of the competition.
The competition was organised in Urdu. It was later found that for the last six months, the Urdu teacher had been absent from his duties. He had evidently been sent on deputation to another school and had recently returned. This is just an instance to expose the dismal status of education in the district.
Not very far from Salotri lies another village, Khanetar, which had been recognised as a model village in 2012. Despite the title, this densely populated village is yet to get a building for its high school. Construction work had started in 2009 but even after six years, the work lies incomplete.
“The administration conducts 13 classes in six rooms. Be it the summer season, winter or the monsoon, the students in our village have to face many challenges to get education: A service that is is a basic human right”, said Nikhat Bukhari, a class 10 student of the school.
Nikhat also complained about the lack of toilets in the school that forces the students to go out in open spaces to relieve themselves. This causes much embarrassment especially to the girls, who eventually skip classes or drop out totally. This thereby closes opportunities for a promising future.There are few who, despite the odds, manage to get education till class 10 but are then forced to drop since there is no higher secondary schools in Khanetar.
Every morning, four buses, overcrowded with children, leave for Poonch. These are the selected few students who can afford an education in the town. “During election season, many MlAs and Ministers come and make false promises to upgrade high school to higher secondary, but till date, nothing has been done”, shares Nikhat, who is worried about her future as well.
In Sheendra, people consider the Khanetar high school to be among the fortunate few. The school building was renovated after five long years. However the wait is still not over in Sheendra and people have been waiting since 1968 to get their school building renovated.
“Of the two rooms that were constructed in 1968, one of them is in a dilapidated condition. We conduct all five classes in a single room which is also used for administrative work”, says Sheendra, one of the teachers of the primary school.
The school boasts the availability of one toilet which, due to the non-availability of water, is ironically of no use. Teachers have on several occasions, tried to raise the matter with the Education Department but to no avail. Another school in Sheendra operates from a shop as no Government building has been allotted for several years now.
As per Niaz Ahmad, a local activist, villagers have given up hope as no one from the Education Department bothers to pay heed to their grievances.
For a district like Poonch that has seen bloodshed during the India-Pakistan war and is always in the news for cross-border conflict, education can play a large role in changing its identity. Youths here have shown a good response to whatever little has been provided to them.
If the new Government really wants to serve the people of Jammu & Kashmir, it must listen to the voice of these youngsters who are waiting for better education opportunities.