Students of cowshed-cum-school have nowhere to go

A day after we carried the picture of a Primary School in Anantnag, operating from a cowshed, the school was relocated on Monday. The move, however, didn’t prove any better for the students.

The students were sent to another school where lack of proper space has forced them to return to the cowshed. Compounding the problem, the owner of the cowshed is not letting the students back in now.

Government Primary School Brakpora in Achabal zone of Anantnag was running from a cowshed and its picture carried by us evoked widespread concern. Taking cognizance, the Education department and district administration in Anantnag shifted the school to nearby Government Middle School, Noonvani. The school at Nunwani has 8 classes and only 3 rooms to accommodate more than 80 students.

“Out of the 3 rooms one is being used as office and the rest two are used by 4 classes each,” a teacher told , requesting anonymity. “We have to make the kids study in turns. Other 3 classes are asked to sit in silence while one class is being taught,” he added.

In such a situation, it is very hard to accommodate another 60 students. Moreover, the lawn of the school is not big enough to hold a class.

Sensing the predicament of their counterparts, the teachers of Brakpora Primary School decided to return to the cowshed. But the owner of the cowshed is not letting them in now, demanding a settlement of rent which has allegedly not been paid for many months now. Parents have decided not to send their wards to the cowshed-cum-school.

“We don’t want them to roam from one place to another,” a concerned parent told KP.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Anantnag, Ghulam Rasool Shah told KP that the schools have been merged for now.

“We have 3 rooms at the Noonvani School and they have been advised to rent another 3 rooms nearby. We have sanctioned a building for the Brakpora Primary school. The schools will function together till that building gets constructed after which the Primary School will be shifted to the new building,” Shah said.