Fear keeps students away from this school
Role plunges from 300 to 29
Every morning the children and female staff of Government Middle School Warpoh, Ganderbal, have to wait outside the para-military CRPF camp either to gather enough courage to enter their educational institute alone or to wait for their school Head to lead them towards their classes.
The daily ritual is one among the many that they have to follow as their school is situated right inside the CRPF camp. The camp was established a decade back on Sheep Husbandry buildings which form a continuous block with the unfortunate school. The CRPF surrounds the school from all sides and controls their only entrance by a toll bar leaving just three school buildings and a lawn for their use overlooked by watchful armed personnel from all sides.
“When I first came here I thought education department has made some mistake by sending me here, as the building bereft of students didn’t look like a school,” said Rakshanda, Headmistress GMS Warpoh, who was posted there in 2013. “People fear to send their children to this school because of the overwhelming presence of CRPF.”
From a high of 300 students around a decade back to 75 in 2010 to just 29 in 2015, the enrollment continues to decline. Class 8 and class 3 have no students, and kindergarten classes have just 9 students, who too are yet to be formally admitted. Even the enrolled students rarely attend their school on a daily basis. “On an average around 12 students attend daily classes,” said Rakshanda.
The presence of CRPF has led to the increase in dropout rate of students, particularly girls. By the time girls reach class 8, majority of them prefer to stay at home. “It is plain and simple, the parents don’t want to send their daughters to a school inside a CRPF camp,” said Rakshanda. “We even did a house-to-house survey and found CRPF presence as the only reason responsible for increased dropout rate.”
The situation around Kashmir or even a simple cricket match between India and Pakistan has a direct bearing on the school. “At the entrance there is toll bar and to enter the school we have to seek permission of CRPF everyday even as in our hearts we just pray the sentry is in a good mood,” said Rakshanda. “They have their own security concerns, but why should we suffer.”
The complete control of the school by CRPF gives staff enough nightmares to remain on tenterhooks. “We feel being human shields. In case of any security situation or even a simple stone pelting, children and staff inside the school would make a soft target,” said a staff member. “If a parent or anybody wishes to visit school, the CRPF personnel first seek our consent to allow him, as if it is a jail and not a public school.”
The school, which was established as primary school in 1980 used to cater to a large population in Alestaing zone right up to Nagbal. Seeing its performance, the department upgraded the school to middle school in 1997 but everything changed after the arrival of security forces in 1999. In comparison, the neighbouring Bakura MS has around 200 students and Bussarbugh school enrolment is touching 100. The decreasing roll here has also marred the chance of school being upgraded to high school.
The school has enough facilities to qualify as a model school. “We have spacious and well furnished classrooms, play-way method teaching facility for KG classes, washrooms, kitchen shed and computers. But nobody seems to look beyond the razor wire which circles our school,” said Rakshanda. “We even have NPEGEL (National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level) centre for dropout girls, that too is a non-starter due to CRPF presence.”
While admitting the problem, the officials plead helplessness. “Yes the CRPF presence has made one of our best schools defunct. Girls and even female staff do not prefer to go there,” said Sonaullah Mir, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Ganderbal. “Many a time we have taken up the issue with district administration and even sought help from some political leaders, but no step is taken towards reclaiming the school.”
The department of Sheep Husbandry, whose buildings are under the use of CRPF, too has been trying hard to get their property vacated. “The security forces occupied one residential quarter, one sheep centre block and four kanals of land in 1999 in Warpoh,” said Dr Kranti Kumar Sharma, Director Sheep Husbandry Kashmir. “We have time and again written to both state and central government asking them to remove the security forces from there as it hinders our work in one of the promising locations. We are not even getting the promises, leave alone action.”
