Early Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 8: The school Education Department has virtually thrown advisory of Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development regarding creation of playgrounds in government and private schools into bin as more than nine hundred schools having no playground facilities.
Sources informed Early Times that to address the shortage of playgrounds in schools, the union ministry had issued an advisory to state governments that the schools do not have playground, may make adequate arrangements in an adjoining playground, Municipal park etc for children to play outdoor game and other physical activities. "But ironically, the state government paid to no attention to address the issue of shortage playground especially in government schools, resulting nearly 961 secondary schools across the state have not playground".
Sources further said that however, Ministry of Rural Development has also issued a notification in March, 2017which makes a provision for construction of play fields and compound walls for Government run schools in the villages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 but the state government has done nothing in this regards.
The sources further said that the callousness of education department can be gauged from this fact that even the prestigious and old schools which was established decades ago, do not have play field which is running within city limits of Jammu.
As per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), 2016-17 revealed that there were 55,074 secondary schools across India lack playground facilities wherein 961 secondary schools of state Jammu and Kashmir having no playgrounds.
"The neighbouring states including Punjab, HP and Haryana at higher pedestal to provide playground facilities at secondary school level, these schools only 137, 198 and 654 respectively do not have facilities", revealed UDISE report. |
