High school in Kokernag village on verge of collapse
Rising Kashmir- Author: Shafat Mir
Kokernag, Aug 18: Located in the dense forest area of Poru Kalnag village in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district, the Government High School here craves the attention of the authorities of the School Education department.
Operating from a run-down rented accommodation, the 150 students of this school are crammed inside four classrooms while some are being imparted education in the gable of this structure under porous tin sheets on the top floor.
Two schools have been temporarily clubbed in this school comprising 11 classes and eight teachers, half of which are here on deputation.
“On hot summer days the intense heat of the tin sheets makes it unbearable to study on the top floor and if there is rainfall, the water seeps inside the structure from porous tin sheets and drenches everything. We have been studying in these conditions for years now with no respite in sight. The entire structure shakes when someone walks inside the building and the mud covering the walls too has fallen off. We have a cow shed at home which is in better condition than this building. Another building adjacent to this school has been vacated as it has started collapsing and bears and other wild animals are frequently spotted there”, says one of the students.
The school was established way back in 1961 as a primary school and was upgraded to middle school in 2008 and high school in 2012. Frequent flash floods, which are a norm during rainfall, have damaged the structure and can result in a disaster anytime.
The locals say that they approached the concerned authorities several times, but the department seems to be in deep slumber.
“It is impossible for our wards to compete with the students of other schools since they lack proper infrastructure which hampers their normal study process. The pumping of money into innovative ways of imparting education fails when there isn’t any room for even conducting normal classes. Whatever little the staff is able to teach them in their capacity, we have to remain content with that,” says a local, Abdul Hameed.
“The teachers are taking three classes from one room, one can imagine the discomfort suffered by the students inside these dingy dark rooms let alone comprehending what these students must be understanding in such a noisy room”, adds Hameed.
A class 6th student, Rashid Ahmed, says that in the current advanced times they do not know how to even turn on the computer as there is no space to have a computer lab.
“We are living in the times of the computer age, yet none of us knows how to even switch on a computer. We do not have an Information and Communication Technology room which is available in almost all high schools run by the government. There is not even a computer teacher to teach us from textbooks at least and every now and then teachers are being transferred from here to other schools,” says Rashid.
When Chief Education Officer Anantnag, Mohammad Khalil, was contacted, he said, "I totally don't have any information regarding this matter. I will check the issue instantly."
