Forget Wi-Fi, schools in rural areas still without classrooms

Gagan K. Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 8

The Punjab government claims to have spent crores on setting up smart labs in government schools, but a large number of schools are still struggling for basic infrastructure like classrooms and furniture.

As a fallout, students in such schools have to take classes in the open by sitting on jute mats even in this bone chilling weather.

The government had discontinued the collection of local funds from schoolgirls till Class XII and boys till Class VIII under the Right to Education Act a few years ago. This has led to financial crisis in a number of schools in rural areas in the district.

A primary school situated few kilometres from Bahadurgarh is a picture of neglect. The students are being taught in two dark classrooms in this foggy weather as power supply to the school was snapped following non-payment of bills.

Since the student strength of school is high, the staff have arranged a room that was constructed by village panchayat for the caretaker of a “dargah”.

As per a report, around 330 rooms have been declared unsafe in various primary and upper primary government schools in the district. The schools have sent the request for the construction or repair of around 400 rooms to the PWD (B&R) and the Panchayat Department.

In certain schools, the authorities have even failed to provide jute mats to students. In such schools, students bring their own gunny bags from home.

A teacher said the government was concentrating on increasing enrolments, but it had failed to provide basic infrastructure to rural schools. “The student strength in government schools is going up, but the government has failed to upgrade the facilities,” she added.

Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema accepted the fact, but claimed that the government was constantly working on upgrading the schools. “There are around 20,000 government schools in the state. There has been remarkable improvement in these schools in the past five years in terms of facilities. As far as unsafe rooms are concerned, their replacement is our priority,” he claimed.