M A I N   N E W S

At this Kurukshetra school, cement bags inside, students outside
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, September 17
There is no room for students at the government primary school in Saini Majra (Jhungian) village in Kurukshetra. Despite the school building having four rooms, the classes are held here in the corridor. The reason: The classrooms have been turned into a go-down and a makeshift dwelling unit.

While one of the rooms is full of cement bags that are meant for a village project, the other one houses a watchman. The remaining two rooms serve as a school kitchen and office.

The room with cement bags is locked, with its keys in the possession of the village sarpanch’s husband, Rishi Ram, who is said to be behind the entire move.

The students sitting in the open have to bear the vagaries of the weather. “Earlier we used to sit in the classroom but now for the past many days we have been attending classes in the corridor as cement bags are lying inside our classroom. When it rains, we are packed into a small room meant for anganwari children. On other days, the heat gets unbearable,” rued a girl student.

Her teacher, Pushpa, says: “The sarpanch said the village pathway needed to be laid and the cement stock could not be left in the open due to the rains. So we moved the children out. The stocks were moved a fortnight ago.”

While The Tribune team was at the school, Rishi Ram too arrived there. When asked why the sarpanch hadn’t come, Ram said: “I was the village sarpanch earlier. This time, I have fielded my wife. She is not here but I handle the work in her absence. In the interest of the village, we, in consultation with the school teachers, have taken the decision to stock cement in one of the rooms as we could not find any other suitable place. Once the road is made, the room will be available to students again. The watchman will stay where he is. It’s up to the school to decide how to use the other two rooms.”

School or a godown

• The school has four rooms. While one is full of cement bags meant for a village project, the second has been occupied by a watchman. The remaining two rooms serve as school office and kitchen
• The students are forced to sit in the corridor bearing the brunt of inclement weather