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| Five teachers for 700 students | | Parents protest; block Poonch-Surankote road | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, April 15: Notwithstanding junior Abdullah's oft-repeated commitment to provide better education facilities in the government-run schools, a high school at Harhi in Surankote, Poonch, is virtually reduced into a playfield in the absence of adequate number of teachers.
As there was no class work, many students were said to have stopped lugging school bags and instead, wielded sticks to graze cattle.
According to locals, they took up the matter with zonal education officer (ZEO) Fazal Bajjad several times, but he neither visited the village nor took any action to post requisite number of teachers in the school. "At present, the school has only five teachers, who too come two or three days a week," they alleged.
Agitated over ZEO's alleged callous attitude and no work in the school, the Harhi residents and their children squatted in the middle of the Poonch-Surankote-Jammu road at Surankote at about 8.30 am today, blocking it to vehicular traffic.
They raised anti-government slogans, holding the ZEO responsible for the present mess in the school.
They, however, lifted their dharna at about 11 am following an assurance from tehsildar, Surankote, Mohammad Rafiq and district education planning officer (DEPO) Mohammad Ashraf that more teachers would be posted in the school within a week.
When contacted, chief education officer (CEO), Poonch, Raj Kumar Saini said he did not know anything about the incident. "I am trying to find out why people protested today," he said, expressing his ignorance about the whole matter.
ZEO Fazal, however, said the Harhi high school, which had a strength of over 700 students, was situated 5 km off the main village road across the Suran river. Teachers had to cover this 5 km stretch on foot in the absence of transport and road access, he added.
"Once a teacher gets transferred, another does not join," he said and added, "This trend has led to the shortage of teachers in the school."
With the result, either teachers' posts remained vacant or posted teachers did not turn up to school for want of transport, the ZEO said.
He said the condition of primary and middle schools at Harhi and its adjoining villages of Dodi, Rajara and Morha Bachai was also not good. These schools too had inadequate number of teachers, he informed. The ZEO said he would visit the Hari high school soon.
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