188 students attend classes at gurdwara, school building not built for decade

As many as 188 students from localities such as Jamalpur, Tajpur Road, EWS Colony, Indrapuri and Sector 32, near Vardhman, are attending classes in a nearby gurdwara in the Sati Sudan area. Students from Classes I to V have been studying there for the past about a decade due to the non-availability of a government school building in the vicinity.

The gurdwara authorities have been accommodating them on their premises and since neither the parents nor the management have raised major objections, the arrangement is being continued, allowing the government to conveniently run the school in the makeshift setup.

According to reliable sources, the government also runs a hostel for students in MIG Colony, Jamalpur. However, the hostel building is in a dilapidated state, despite having adequate space that could be used to construct the school and hostel.

“The hostel is in MIG Colony but residents there are not in favour of having a school in the area, citing it would cause nuisance. A few local residents have even allowed two-three migrant families to occupy unsafe accommodation adjacent to the hostel building just to prevent any construction activity for a school,” revealed one of the teachers, requesting anonymity.

At present, the students study together in a single hall inside the gurdwara, where temporary partitions have been created to divide classes. Meanwhile, the 28 students staying in the Jamalpur hostel continue to live in unsafe conditions.

Arvinder Singh, the caretaker of the hostel, said the structure had enough space to construct classrooms. “It would be ideal if the government build a school building near the hostel itself. Since the hostel is already unsafe and requires reconstruction, it would make sense to start the school construction simultaneously. Many parents are hesitant to admit their children to the hostel due to its present condition. If a proper building is constructed for both school and hostel, the student strength will automatically increase,” he said.

Meanwhile, District Education Officer (DEO) Dimple Madan said 28 students of the residential hostel would soon be shifted to a GLADA building in Sector 32. “At the same time, we are writing to the Education Department to allow the construction of a middle-level school at one portion of the hostel, where encroachments are made by a few migrants. If the department agrees, it would be too good for students to study and reside at the same place,” he said.