4 Rajouri villages have no higher secondary school

Shyam Sood

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Mohra Kampla (Rajouri), June 26

Contrary to the tall claims of the state government and the Education Department that there schools have been provided for children within 3-4 km of their homes, the students of Class XI and XII have been covering between 50 and 100 km daily in many areas of Rajouri district.

In Veer Bhadreshwar village, located on the Line of Control in Nowshera tehsil and about 100 km from Nowshera town, there is no higher secondary school.

“Students of Class XI and XII from Veer Bhadreshwar, Mohra Kampla, Lam and Pukhrni villages cover between 30 and 100 km daily to attend their classes at Nowshera and Laroka. They reach home after 6 pm. As the villages face shortage of electricity, the children face difficulty in studying during the night,” said Mohammad Bashir, lambardar of Mohra Kampla village.

Bashir said only one bus plied between Veer Bhadreshwar and Nowshera as a result of which students had to cover kilometres on foot in case they missed it.

Meanwhile, locals also complained of acute shortage of drinking water facility and toilets in middle schools at Loha Katha and Darooni Gala villages. They said the schools were not connected by road and children had to cross a rivulet to reach the schools which was dangerous.

As the summer vacation is on, the Education Department has started free tuition classes for the students of Class VIII to XII at higher secondary schools and has engaged highly qualified government teachers for their coaching.

Residents of Mohra Kampla, Veer Bhadreshwar and Pukhrni villages also demanded coaching classes at High School, Lam.

“If there are more than 30 students (in Class XI and XII), then the department can provide such a facility at Lam High School. However, coaching for Class VIII to X will be provided at Lam High School from today onwards,” said Choudhary Altaf Hussian, Chief Education Officer, Rajouri.

Meanwhile, Nowshera MLA Ravinder Raina said he had taken up the matter in the Assembly for the upgrade of at least one high school at Lam, Laroka and Bhawani to higher secondary school.

“The matter was also raised with the Education Minister and it is hoped that soon one of the schools will be upgraded so that children of these areas do not have to suffer any more,” said the MLA.