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| Newly constructed school buildings in J&K earthquake prone: HRD ministry | | SSA implementation | |
Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Apr 19: Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has picked up several loopholes in the effective implementation of centrally sponsored and much hyped Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) programme in Jammu and Kashmir. Serious of all, newly constructed schools under SSA are earthquake prone.
The inadequacies have been brought to the notice of state government. However, state has preferred not to bring in structural changes for improving standard of education being provided under SSA and is continuing with increasing number of schools and teachers at all levels. The education ministry boosts of having opened schools in every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir but has so far preferred not to lay claims on standard of education being provided in these schools.
A team of union HRD ministry has prepared a detailed draft pointing towards inadequacies and serious shortcomings. The draft has hit out at the claims of education ministry of Jammu and Kashmir. It has said that department of education has either inaccurate or no data at all related to the infrastructure of schools at block, district and state level.
Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers are yet to be given the task of preparing the infrastructure data related to the schools in each Block. Draft affirms that state had been asked to assign task of preparing details of the school premises, its land area, building details and other infrastructure details to AEs and JEs. According to the draft, state has miserably failed to ensure this.
The draft which HRD ministry has termed ‘Confidential’ further says that cost estimates as prepared for the school buildings are uniform for the whole state. The ministry has called this uniformity highly unjustified and added that uniform cost of the building being constructed near to the material source and that far away from it seems to be unjustified. It has recommended for preparing the estimates district-wise and adding carriage for the transportation of material in distinct areas.
The draft has said that distribution of funds should also be based on the location of the sites from the material source. Regarding Jammu and Kashmir government’s approach, the draft says that typical cost estimates have been prepared on an ideal situation of flat terrain and these do not account for hilly terrains where additional plinth levels are to be constructed to bring building to uniform plinth level.
The confidential draft, copy of which is with Early Times has stressed that state project director’s office should be provided with a full technical team consisting of Senior and Junior Engineers, Architect and Draftsman who should estimate each site based on its local conditions and provide / sanction the funds accordingly. It has also stressed that engineers being engaged by the government should have at least 5 years experience in the construction field and they should be bound by a work contract so that he is responsible for the works he is certifying.
Referring to inspection reports, HRD ministry has asked the department to engage an independent agency to undertake day to day inspection of the sites where construction work is being undertaken. HRD ministry has also take note of unavailability of the provision and facility of material testing in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ministry has recommended that proposed technical staff and the Third Party Inspection team should be asked to certify quality of material being used for the construction activity and opined the state to go for day to day supervision. Ministry has said that school buildings being planned and executed by education ministry of Jammu and Kashmir have serious shortcomings.
It has said that there is no provision of earthquake resistant structures in the building design in the Kashmir region which is highly sensitive to earthquakes besides ramps being provided in the buildings are not as per design in most of the buildings and most of the buildings have ramps with improper design, width and slope.
HRD ministry has observed that annual maintenance grant for the school premises before the start of the SSA programme should be based on land availability of the school complex, number of buildings existing in the complex and physical condition of the buildings in the complex.
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