Children study under trees, in Panchayat Ghar as repairs delay in Jalandhar

Three Government Primary Schools, GPS Janian Chahal, GPS Chak Wadala and GPS Sidhupur, in Jalandhar district declared unsafe over the past one or two years, are still awaiting construction and repair work, leaving students to study in makeshift arrangements.

While GPS Janian Chahal and GPS Chak Wadala were declared unsafe about a year ago, GPS Sidhupur has remained in the same situation for nearly two years after a portion of its building collapsed. Despite repeated concerns raised by parents and assurances from the authorities, construction work has yet to begin at any of the three schools.

The delay comes even as the state government has repeatedly been claiming and highlighting its efforts towards improving education and school infrastructure. The parents of students studying at these schools often remain worried about the safety of their children even after sending them to school, say the school authorities.

Officials, however, said the first installment of the construction grant has finally been received for GPS Chak Wadala and GPS Janian Chahal. Construction work, they said, is expected to begin soon. The tentative budget for these two schools is Rs 57 lakh and Rs 43 lakh, respectively.

No grant, however, has been received for GPS Sidhupur so far.

At GPS Chak Wadala, around 50 students initially studied for nearly six months at the residence of an NRI after the school building was declared unsafe. They later returned to the school premises, where the authorities have made temporary arrangements to accommodate them.

According to the school authorities, students are currently being made to sit in an Anganwadi room and a small verandah as a safety measure.

At GPS Janian Chahal, students are similarly being accommodated outside the classrooms, near a tree, to protect them from extreme weather conditions. The teacher and students are also sharing a single washroom that was originally constructed for staff use.

The situation at GPS Sidhupur is no better. Following the collapse of a portion of the school building, students have been shifted to a nearby panchayat ghar, where classes are currently being conducted.

District Education Officer Gurinderjit Kaur said the construction at the schools for which funds had been received would begin soon.

“Now that the grant has been received, construction work at these schools will start soon. I am aware that this is an important matter. We are also again preparing a list of unsafe schools, which will be submitted to the department,” she said.

For parents, however, the wait has already stretched into years, with concerns over the safety and basic facilities available to their children continuing to persist.