Here's a situation you are
unlikely to find anywhere else in the country. The Government Primary School at
Fatehpur Awana village, about 10 km from Ludhiana, runs from a rented house.
But instead of the government, the rent is being paid by the villagers for the
past two months since they can't bear the thought of 140 children not attending
school.
The school's original building, which had been declared
unsafe, was demolished in September. The government, however, is yet to release
funds for the reconstruction of the building.
Following Punjab and Haryana high court directions, director
general of school education Pradeep Aggarwal had earlier instructed all
district education officers (elementary) to demolish unsafe buildings. Barring
one room, the entire building of the Fatehpur Awana school was demolished.
Looking for an alternative place to run classes, the teachers
had approached a local gurdwara but their request was turned down. "We
couldn't have stopped running classes and some villagers suggested that we rent
a house," said Mukesh Saini, the head teacher.
The teachers were willing to contribute towards the rent, but
the villagers insisted that prominent people from among them would take turns
to pay it. A three-room building close to the school was taken on a monthly
rent of Rs 5,000.
Soon, classes II, IV and V started running in the new building. Students of Class I were, however, made to sit in the only room of the old school building that was declared safe. The rented building has space to accommodate only half of the 50 students of Class III. So, the rest are made to sit in the corridor of the old school.
Schoolteachers said the school did not have desks and they
borrowed 20 from a nearby small private school, which was shut down last month.
The other students have to sit on mats.
Balwinder Singh, a resident who volunteered to pay the
rent twice, said villagers will keep paying to ensure the education of children
is not affected.
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