The basic facilities like drinking water, washrooms, furniture and proper shelter for the 192 young souls studying in the school are non-existent.
The Punjab government’s reforms in education sector and hundred per cent enrollment plan appear to be a shattered dream as the school lacks environment conducive to education.
It has been observed that the parents of the students have limited financial resources and they cannot afford to provide proper uniform to their children as most of them were without uniform.
The students have to sit on the ground in open and have to visit nearby houses to drink water. In the absence of washrooms, the boy students have to go to nearby fields and the girl students have to visit the nearby houses.
Half-constructed class rooms without windows, doors, fans and furniture speak volume about the apathy of the authorities concerned. For six classes only five teachers are available resultantly a teacher has to teach two different classes at the same time.
According to the school administration, most of the students fall ill by sitting on naked floor in winter. Talking to this reporter a Class II student, Saleem Khan said he suffered cold thrice in rainy season because he had to sit on bare floor in harsh winter season. He said after every rainy spell children fell ill as it was impossible for them to sit on floor without rugs.
Talking to this reporter, Malik Tahir Suleman, a social worker of the area said that the school showed the true picture of class based education system in the country. He said that the previous and present government had made tall claims of bringing revolution in the education sector but this school was deprived of the basic facilities.
A teacher requesting anonymity told this reporter that school administration had sent countless requests and reminders to the education department to take notice of the plight of the innocent children and provide basic amenities, but the school never received a response from the department.
Talking to this reporter acting headmaster Mir Tariq said that the local as well as district education authorities were well aware of the sorry state of affairs of the school. He said that the officials from education department as well as district monitoring team had frequently visited the school and made recommendations for the provision of facilities but so far no action had been taken by the authorities concerned.
Deputy District Officer (DDO) Education Amjad Mehmood, said that the school was on priority list in the development plan of the fiscal year 2011-12 and when the department would get grant through MPA or MNA fund, the work on the provision of facilities would begin without any delay.
DAWN