A ‘smart’ school without teachers!

Kot Muhammad Khan village residents have long been demanding the authorities to fill the vacant posts of teaching and other non-teaching staff of the village government high school and the government primary school. There are as many as 300 students in both the schools. The students here had been passing their exams on their own, without the help of teachers. The Kot Muhammad Khan village was the native village of Krishan Kant who once was the county’s Vice President. He was one of the topmost powerful personalities in the country then. The village elders wrote a letter to Captain Amarinder Singh, appealing him to fill the posts with immediate effect as the next session was drawing near. Mangal Singh said the high school was functioning without the headmaster, drawing master, clerk, sweeper and the security guard. He said in the primary school, there was not even a single teacher for as many as 150 students. Centre Head Teacher (CHT) of the school remains occupied with the clerical work throughout the day. The village elders said despite all these shortcomings, the state government declared both the schools as smart schools. Mangal Singh said the school mostly had kids from the underprivileged sections, and hence demanded more attention. Not only this, the school also lacked playground.

Used or misused?

Youngsters of Gandiwind (Dhattal) village have expressed their concern over the 'misuse' of Rs 20 lakh grant which was announced by the then MP Ranjit Singh Brahampura from his MPLAD fund for the renovation of the village sports stadium in the memory of Sukhjinder Singh, a Pulwama martyr from the village. He sacrificed his life in the terror attack at Pulwama. The land for the stadium had already been given by the village panchayat. The work of the stadium was started after one year of the release of the grant. However, only a part of the stadium has been constructed and the authorities have claimed that the Rs 20 lakh has already been used. The youngsters of the village said they waited for more than a year for the stadium to be constructed. On contacting the officials, they were told that the grant of Rs 20 lakh has finished while the work of the stadium was still left. The perturbed youngsters expressed their anguish on the social media over the alleged misuse of the grant of Rs 20 L. They were made silent by the leaders of the ruling party who alleged that they were defaming the state government. They have demanded a high-level probe into the alleged embezzlement of Rs 20 lakh.

Standing in solidarity

Nirmal Singh Sandhu (pic) of Jatti Umra village, the native village of ancestors of Pakistani former premier Nawaz Sharif, travelled by air to Delhi to join the farmers’ protest in Delhi. Sandhu, an employee of the state government, was eager to join the nationwide agitation. He also hailed the farming community for its efforts and clicked a selfie with the farmers’ slogans. He also exhorted the people of the area to take part in the agitation.

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