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| ‘Education ‘not for all’ | | Upper caste teacher throws away students of other communities | |
Rajouri, Nov 30
It may seem incredible but is a fact that despite 59 years of Independence and provision of equal rights to its citizens under the Constitution, the discrimination and casteism continue to grow across the country and Jammu and Kashmir is not the exception. The slogan ‘Education for All’ is still a distinct dream and the Education Guarantee Scheme launched by the government has different meaning in border district of Rajouri as students belonging to lower caste are given different treatment so much so they are not tolerated in the school by the people of upper caste.
According to reports an upper caste teacher is alleged to have thrown out at least 12 students belonging to Muslim and Schedule Caste communities from the School in a Hindu dominated area of Nowshara.
Quoting villagers the sources said that an Education Guarantee Centre was opened by the Government in village Barsali on 16 November 2004 with the first admission of total 28 students. About 60 families of Hindu Schedule castes and Muslims live in the village. With no qualified candidate available in the said village, the first teacher appointed in the EGS school was imported by the authorities from the adjoining village Daber.. The 12th class pass candidate was appointed as the first teacher of the school and following increase in the students’ roll a lady teacher too was appointed.
The villagers allege that as the teacher belonged to an upper caste community, he from the very beginning started discouraging the students on one pretext or the other. Finally, a year after the said teacher identified as Pushpinder Kumar struck off 12 students of both the communities from the school, alleged the villagers.
Among those who were struck off from the school, seven belonged to Muslim Community and five to schedule caste category.
The official records suggest that Perveen Akhter daughter of Hakim Din, Rukhsana Kouser daughter of Mohd Aslam , Ajay Kumar son of Nek Ram, Prinka Chandan daughter of Nek Ram , Kajol daughter Sham Lal , Sonu Chandan daughter of Nek Ram , Razia Akhter daughter of Mohd Qasim and Rabia Akhter daughter of Mohd Qasim were struck off from the school on Sepember 26, 2005, while Ajay Kumar son of Nake Ram , Permjeet daughter of Sham Lal , Saleema Akhter daughter of Mohd Hussain, Sahila Haleem daughter of Mohd Afzal and Mohd Shafaq son of Mohd Hussain were struck off on October 22,2005.
Though the teacher Pushpinder Kumar says that the students were struck off from the school for their long absence but the attendance register of the student’s shows 90% presence of the students in the centre during the month they were struck off from the school. Moreover, there is no provision in the EGS scheme to struck off any student from the school on the basis of absence. Kumar said as the centre is being run in a Mandir, Muslims themselves don’t want to send their children in the premises of a Hindu religious building. However, for, Hindu Schedule caste students who have been struck off from the school, the teacher cited the reason of their long absence.
But Nek Ram whose three children have been struck off from the school contest the version saying that the teacher deliberately used to harass his children and finally asked them to leave the school citing the reason of their absence, which is not correct, he said. The Muslims on the other hand alleged that the teacher deliberately shifted the school in the Guru Ravi Dass temple building so that Muslims could not go in this school. ‘Even though my children continued to go to school till they were struck off by the teacher with out citing any reasons’, said Mohammed Qasim. However, ailing woman Shamima Akhter, said that she had her self stopped her children from the school when the school was shifted in the Mandir building by the teacher with a conspiracy.
However, after one year on 15 November 2006 the parents of these students complained in black and white to the Deputy Commissioner Rajouri. In their written complaint they alleged that their wards were provded ‘Mid Day’ meals in the said school with the upper caste students. Acting on the complaint, Deputy Commissioner Pervez Ahmed Malik has already ordered an inquiry in to the incident vide his letter no: DDCR/PS/Edu/2006-07/6090 dated 16-11-2006. But irony is that despite the Deputy Commissioner’s order the education authorities have not taken any action so far.
When contacted Zonal Education Officer Dandaser, Sukesh Kumari, under whose jurisdiction this EGS centre falls, denied that any student was ever struck off from the school. However, she admitted that the matter was brought to her notice only after she received a letter from Chief Education Office Rajouri. “ I inquired and found that no student has been struck off from the school”, she said. However, some reliable sources said that the action was delayed, as the teacher against whom the complaint was lodged, is the relative of an education officer in the district.
Meanwhile, the parents of the students who have been thrown out from the school told this correspondent that now they have decided to approach National Human Rights Commission of India in this regard.
If this trend is allowed to continue, one wonders how the government would achieve the goal of cent per cent literacy and if the casteism is preached in schools what would be the fate of the state as also the country which is already passing through a critical phase where some divisive elements are making bid to divide the country on the basis of religion, caste and creed, the elders of the tiny village observe and cautioned if this trend is not set right it may endanger the unity and integrity of the country.
When the matter was brought in to the notice of Deputy Commissioner, Pervez Ahmed Malik, he expressed his surprise that how his order was ignored by the education authorities. He assured that he would go on spot and investigate the matter himself.
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