Planning deficit
The School education department in Kashmir it seems wants to be in news and for wrong reasons always. Though the department generated lot of heat and debate by announcing a new time table for the schools in summer zone in this week alone, it had to eat its words and cancel it order on the new timings.
Similarly, the department has been facing lot of questions over its policies adopted vis-à-vis promoting the education in the valley and helping to improve the infrastructure available with the department.
The department has been facing various issues but the space and accommodation needed for the growth of the schools and the students has been one such issue which deserves the department’s priority.
However, given the past experiences and the department’s priorities it seems that the funds that are made available to improve on the infrastructure have been going waste. The examples can be cited from various districts of the zone it operates for.
As many as 1500 school buildings have been left abandoned by the School Education Department over the years, exposing the wastage of resources by the authorities at the helm of affairs.
Around 17 primary school buildings, four middle school buildings and 30 blocks which were sanctioned as additional classrooms for schools have been left abandoned in district Kupwara alone.
For instance, a primary school building was sanctioned in a village of Langate constituency at a cost of around Rs 14 lakh for the newly established school under SSA. But the construction of the building was left incomplete that too midway.
In adjacent village, another primary school building along with a kitchen shed has been constructed in the middle of a paddy field. The building has no connectivity and a person has to wade through a water canal to reach to the school building.
The haphazard construction of these school buildings has exposed the faulty implementation of the centrally sponsored schemes by the school education department. The building in this village has been left abandoned for past more than four years now.
Notably, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, though not in vogue now, lot of funds have been pumped in for infrastructural up gradation of the schools. However, the investment is literally going down the drain in absence of proper planning in the state.
The faulty construction of these buildings without checking feasibility has also exposed the nexus between contractors and authorities. The buildings have been constructed just to pave way for opening of new SSA schools and gaining political mileage.
As per official figures as many as 473 SSA primary school buildings and 41 middle school buildings have been left abandoned since the inception of the scheme in the state. Also, 1001 buildings sanctioned as additional classrooms for the existing schools under the scheme have been left abandoned as well.
These school buildings have no watch and ward from the department with the result these concrete structures have become hub of illegal activities for youth who assemble in groups in these buildings during evenings.
The department should shift its priority over getting the needed improvements in the infrastructure and also help it to utilize the abandoned structures. This will ensure that the available infrastructure is put to use and funds that are sanctioned are put to use where there is absolute need.
KV Network
