No Room for School

The children of a Government School in Jammu and Kashmir have only one room to study in.

Ever since it was set up in 2003, the school of Mir Mohala Rahayee in Badgam District of Jammu and Kashmir has been in a rundown state. Although the Central Government has officially called it a Primary School, in reality it is only a 6 x 10 feet rented room in which 30 children sit crammed together.

Community Correspondent Sajad Rasool tells us that this is the only school of the Mir Mohala village, which comprises 150 households. “The people living here work as farmers and their financial condition is terrible.” says Sajad. “For this reason, they cannot afford to put their children in private schools and have to make do with the one provided by the government.”

Mir Mohala Rahayee was first set up by the Government as part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan as a centre for children who did not have proper schooling. In 2008, its status was changed to that of a Primary School, but its’ meagre infrastructure remained the same.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a Central Government Scheme that aims to universalise elementary education throughout India within a time bound framework. To enable this, the programme includes the development and strengthening of infrastructural, economic and other facilities for primary schools, especially for those situated in rural areas. One of the main points under the scheme states that it is mandatory to have a minimum of two teachers in one primary school. However, the Mir Mohala Rahayee School has only had one teacher teaching its students since 2003.

“The elders of the village have been holding regular meetings to discuss the state of the school. They are worried about their children’s future.” says Sajad. During the monsoon and winter months, parents refuse to send their children to school as the room does not have adequate heating facilities. Also, the Mid Day Meal scheme is not carried out properly during these seasons. This means that the children who attend school at this time have to go hungry throughout the day.

Sajad believes that corruption is the cause of all these problems. “The government has allocated adequate funds for the development of the Mir Mohala School, but because of some officials trying to grease their fingers, we are not granted access to the money.”

According to him, education forms the foundation for all societies, and only when the younger generation is able to get proper schooling can a community even dream of developing further. “It is a sad but true fact that a few corrupt individuals can stand in the way of a child’s future.”

-Rajyashri Goody

Sajad Rasool
I am a Kashmiri muslim from Badgam. Kashmir Valley has been witnessing Violence from almost 23 years, Kashmir once known as the Paradise on the Eartg has become a land of Miseries and Sufferings. Every street has witnessed blood of innocents, every youth has faced tortures and violence. I call Kashmir the land of Widows, Orphans, forced disappearences and Land of Pain. Here are Hundreds of stories which are untold yet, media has always neglected these stories. No doubt Kashmir has a lot of natural ressources, yet a big part of Kashmir is underdeveloped. Lots of people have no electricity. Out of the total power Kashmir produces only 13% is distributed in Kashmir, the rest goes to other states. You will not hear the media talking about this sort of deprivation. I am a mainstream journalist, and a Right to Information activist. So, I am very aware of all the stories of corruption, and inequalities. But I cannot write about them, because media is biased, and highly commercialized. The stories from communities which suffer from war and violence are neglected. therefore I decided to become a Community Correspondent. I think this is the best platform for me to highlight the untold and uncovered issues in my community. Community media can make journalism meaningful.

Sajad Rasool has produced 13 stories for us.

One Response to “No Room for School”

1. Nelufar shariff says:

   November 18, 2011 at 2:56 pm

   I request you to foward this message to all muslims of the world and form a Trust in kashmir and collect the funds and expand the school and college for the needy children of kashmir state and see that every child of kashmir gets good education.

   And i may be the first person to contribute for such a good deed. And also collect from my state as much as possible

   Now its left to the local people of kashmir how they take it.