Peerzada Umer
Srinagar, Jun 18: As Kashmir Valley suffers through a severe heat wave, an official report has revealed a troubling fact: 34 government-run schools in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district still don’t have electricity, even though digital learning and smart classrooms are now the norm. While the children of the affluent class study in air conditioned facilities, the poor in the education sector too seems to be bearing the brunt of official apathy.
The Chief Education Officer (CEO) Baramulla released this information in response to an RTI request. It shows important gaps in the district’s education system. The data also shows that the Samagra Shiksha Scheme plans to put solar panels in these schools by 2025-26. Right now, though, hundreds of students are suffering in the heat and not learning very well.
During the summer months, when classroom temperatures rise, education experts and child rights activists have expressed concern about the lack of basic amenities like electricity in government schools.
“In this age of learning through technology, not giving schools electricity is like not giving students the right to a good education.” Abdul Wahid Bhat, a local whose child goes to one of these government schools, said, “Heat stress also makes it very hard for students to pay attention and for teachers to do their jobs.”
The document also says that 36 schools don’t have piped water connections, but they do have drinking water from tanks, buckets, or bottles. Also, even though all schools are said to have library facilities, 91 high and higher secondary schools in the district don’t have their own library rooms because of problems with the infrastructure.
Baramulla, one of the biggest districts in the Valley, still has 89 government schools that are running out of rented buildings. This shows how hard it is for public schools in the area to do their job.
Since temperatures in some parts of the Valley will be over 35°C this June, these schools need immediate administrative attention and faster implementation of infrastructure plans. However, as per the officials at the helm in the department, the lack of proper funding makes it herculean for the authorities to implement the schemes in these schools. (KNO)
