Apathy of Anantnag education department leaves 150 high school students in lurch at Poru Kokernag

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag,04 Aug:

On the foothills of the Kokernag area, the government high school in Poru village of Anantnag district lacks basic facilities. The dilapidated two-storey building that houses the school poses a threat to students’ lives.

There are 150 students and eight teachers at the high school, which is housed in a private rented building.

Poru high school’s crumbling structure speaks volumes about the apathy of the department of education in the Anantnag district. The school was established in 1961 as a primary school and was upgraded to middle school in 2008 and high school in 2012.

“Our children are studying under the shadow of death. The building can collapse anytime and result in fatalities,” said locals while expressing their apprehensions to Arising state.

The locals claimed to have approached the concerned authorities several times, but the department seems to be in deep slumber, stated locals.

Poru High School is among several dilapidated government-run schools in the Anantnag district.

Our children are deprived of the same exposure and facilities that rich students whose parents can afford to send them to private schools have, as they study in government-run schools without proper working classrooms, explains Abdul Hameed Bimla, the father of a student at the same high school.

Although the high school teachers have brought this issue up several times with the higher officials, nothing substantial has yet been done on the ground. A teacher requesting anonymity said, “we are operating three classes from one room. No one cares about the discomfort and the problems the students face while studying in a place like this, he said.

Speaking to the CEO Anantnag, Mohd Khalil did not respond to this reporter’s questions on this issue and asked this reporter to speak with the concerned ZEO since he was busy with school inspections.

Upon contacting the ZEO Bidder, he acknowledged that the students are facing hardships in the building since there are no facilities. Upon being asked if the school would relocate or improve facilities in high school, the official dropped the call.