Two Nawanshahr government schools with just one student each

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Nawanshahr, July 10

From mid-day meal, proper infrastructure to smart classrooms, there is a provision for every facility one can ask for in a government school. Despite this, Government Middle Schools (GMS) in Dhaingarpur and Chak Guru of Nawanshahr district have just a single student left.

Reason: Lack of teachers. There is just one permanent teacher in Dhaingarpur school and none in Chak Guru. The teachers here come on deputation for just one student.

There used to be around 40 students and staff in GMS, Dhaingarpur, around four years ago but the teachers got transferred with time, resulting in decrease in pupil strength. Harish Kumar is the only Class VIII student in the school.

Vinayak, the lone teacher in the school, said if there was more staff, students would take admission again. He said that last year, there were 12 students in the school.

Reportedly at the start of the session, around four students had taken admission in the school but after a few days, three of them stopped coming.

Similar situation prevails in GMS, Chak Guru, too. Teachers here come on deputation to teach one Class VII student named Mannat. A teacher deputed in the school said for quite some time, there was no staff here. “The village panchayat has been trying hard to get a teacher on a permanent basis,” the teacher added.

Meanwhile, Chak Guru village sarpanch Manjit Kaur has written to the Education Department officials to provide teachers in the school. “I don’t want the school to get shut, because there are parents who are willing to send their wards here as it is close to their houses. But the lack of teaching faculty is the major hindrance due to which the parents have started putting their children in other schools,” she said.

WILL TAKE UP MATTER WITH HIGHER-UPS

I will visit both schools and take up the matter with higher officials. I’ll also meet the staff members and village panchayats, and ask them about the actual problem. — Rajesh Kumar, Deputy DEO, Nawanshahr