Jahangeer Ganaie
Anantnag, Mar 10: Strange it may sound but true is the fact that Government Middle School (GMS) in Wanpora Kewa area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district is functioning in a three room structure.
A primary School that was established in the 90s and later upgraded to middle school, a few years ago still lacks basic infrastructure due to which the students studying there are facing many difficulties.
The school has an enrolment of about 120 students who are crammed in three rooms, exposing the educational standards of the department.
“The school lacks every basic facility and has no facets to be called as an educational institution as there is no accommodation and other facilities,” locals of the area said.
As per locals, the basic issue is that despite the passage of about a decade since upgrading authorities have failed to construct any other structure there.
“There is availability of state Land occupied and space available to construct other structures. The school is facing accommodation crunch and the teachers here can’t provide proper education to the students enrolled here,” they said.
The school has only five rooms including an office and smart classroom where teachers have to adjust around 120 students of nine classes including KGs how can two or three teachers teach students of three classes in a single room simultaneously, they asked.
Mudasir Ahmad, a local social activist said that the government focuses more on showcasing achievements in the education sector but there is no development visible on the ground.
Although the staff members are doing their best to provide quality education to the enrolled students, the dearth of basic facilities has got them concerned, having no answers to the anguish of the students,” he said. “Compared to other Government schools, the school has a good number of students enrolled which makes it imperative for the concerned authorities to take immediate steps in order to provide them quality facilities.”
The locals said that all students studying here belong to financially weak families so authorities must take immediate steps to ensure quality education for these poor students.
“We have apprised the higher ups so many times so far, but to no avail,” they said.
Meanwhile, an official of the department said that they have already written to higher ups in this regard and they are hopeful issued will be redressed soon.
