While the Madhya Pradesh education ministry has on Wednesday issued an order for students to say ‘Jai Hind’ at their roll call, the state’s Chatarpur district is suffering from greater issues of lack of basic amenities, that includes the school building as well.
After closely surveying the situation of education in the district, it was observed that the ground reality of education is contrary to the claims of the education ministry, and students have been without a school building for three years now, forcing them to study in the open.
According to the students and the teachers, the Midday Meal (MDM) is not served on time, and no actions are taken for the cleanliness of toilets, which also lack water.
The Bagrajan School, one of those four schools, even conducts classes on the road, the locals informed. Chhotu, one of the students, said that the there is a constant fear of accidents because of classes being conducted on roads, and told that the students have been waiting for a school building for three years.
Another student informed that the school has also not been providing food for some days now. On being questioned if they are served food (if provided) in proper utensils, she said, “We have to bring our own utensils from home.”
The teachers of the school informed that the classes are conducted on the road, and during hot days and rains, they have to make arrangements accordingly.
“We have to sit under the sun and let the children sit under the shade, which poses risk to our health. We still try our best to provide them education,” guest teacher Abdul Haq told.
Assistant teacher Rajendra Goswami told that a bypass road nearby poses a great risk to the safety of students, who have to be looked after constantly, lest they wander towards the road while playing or fetching water from a nearby hand pump.
“We are constantly shifting classes depending on weather conditions, and have rented a room for the same. While students are running around, teachers also have to run after them to ensure their safety which risks the lives of both students and teachers,” Goswami said.
“I have not been informed regarding any progress towards the building project,” he added.
The District Project Coordination officer, H.S. Tripathy, was uninformed about the deplorable condition. Contrary to the claims of students and teachers, Tripathy said that arrangements of midday meal have been made inside a building.
On being told about the lack of midday meals, the officer said that he was not been informed of the problem, and would comment only after a proper investigation into the matter has been made.
“So far, we have not received any complaint regarding this problem,” he added. Tripathy also spoke about the lack of buildings in four schools of the district.
“There are four schools like Bagraajan. We have already submitted 50 per cent of the fund towards the construction of school building, and have contacted the construction agency Nagar Palika Chhattarpur that informed that the tender has been called and soon the work will begin,” informed Tripathi.
The total fund for the project is Rs 12,12,000, he further informed.
“The delay has been caused due to the lack of completion of the tender process, even though the agency has made tender calls twice. I have been in constant contact with them,” he added.
Meanwhile, with an aim to fill students with the sentiments of nationalism, the Madhya Pradesh government had announced that from October 1, the students of government schools would have to say ‘Jai Hind’ when they answer the roll call in the Satna district.
The orders have been given by state Education Minister Vijay Shah, who has launched this practice on an experimental basis in Satna.
