Schools open after long summer break

Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, July 1

After a 40-day summer break, the government and many private schools reopened today. Despite the low attendance, students were eager to attend lessons. At the same time, many pupils were still struggling due to the poor condition of many government schools, and the rain was just making matters worse.

Around 2,100 children at Haibowal’s Government Primary ‘Smart’ School are to be accommodated in just 16-17 classrooms. A visit to the school revealed how both pupils and teachers were battling under poor infrastructural conditions. Construction materials such as sand, bricks and iron were piled up across the premises adding to the chaos.

Water could also be seen in other empty corridor areas, and the classrooms appeared shabby.

The school’s principal stated construction work for new classrooms began prior to the General Election, but grants had to be returned during the election, effectively bringing the construction to a standstill. “We are waiting for grants to be released again so that we can complete the construction work,” the principal added.

Further, if the students need to use the lavatory, they must cross sludge during the rains, and as such construction material strewn around pose a safety hazard.

The situation is similar at the Government Primary School in Sunet, where there are approximately 1,000 pupils who are forced to sit in the corridors. Further, some rooms have cracks in the ceiling which enable rainwater to seep in, adding to the troubles of an overcrowded school. Here too, the scattered building material limits the movement of teachers and kids.

The government schools were open from 8 am to 2 pm.