Closed since 2018, Kalka girls school in a shambles

The lack of a management committee and internal politics has left an age-old girls school in Kalka in complete shambles as it has remained shut for six years. Trees and bushes have grown out of the school, which was the only government-aided school for girls in the city. The property that has over 40 classrooms and science labs has been shut since 2018.

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The Hindu Girls Senior Secondary School, Sohan Nagar, Kalka, was opened in 1918. Run by a management committee made up of the area’s residents with government aid, the school was gradually upgraded to the senior secondary level and also provided coaching for BA and BEd courses for a few years.

But as of today, the school property, in the middle of Kalka city, lies in ruins. On entering the school, one is greeted with wild grass and shrubs that seem to have taken over the front lawn. Windowpanes in the classroom are broken, and the benches gather dust as they lie disorderly stacked in a few rooms. Due to the lack of management of the property, weeds have grown on balconies, and rainwater continues to damage the concrete.

A resident pointed out, “Former Kalka MLAs Lachhman Singh, Kishori Lal, and Kanti Prakash Bhalla have functioned as the presidents of the school management committee.”

Anurag Jindal, a confectionary manufacturer in the neighbourhood, claimed all his family members studied at the school. “My parents and grandparents also studied on this very premises,” he said. The man, however, kept mum when asked about the reasons behind its closure.

Another resident of the area, requesting anonymity, said the school’s closure was partially due to internal politics among the members of its management committee.

According to a former member of the school’s management committee, it closed in 2018 after the state government absorbed its regular teachers into other neighbouring schools. Requesting anonymity, he said, “The school property is large with over 40–50 rooms. But the student count at our school witnessed a sudden drop after a nearby government boys’ school was turned co-educational. The management committee resigned after the teachers were absorbed in other schools. Since then, the residents have failed to form a management committee due to political interests.”

The matter is within the knowledge of the state Education Department.

District Education Officer (DEO) Satpal Kaushik said the government absorbed the staff into other schools in 2018. “The school management committee could run it on its own, but they failed to do so.”

He said the Education Department had recently demanded information regarding the feasibility of running it again. “We have sent a report on the matter. The state government will take a decision,” he said.