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What are 5 government schools doing cramped on a single campus?
Old Bhopal holds the dubious distinction of being a place that has 5 government schools cramped on a single campus. What’s worse is the dismal infrastructure of the campus. Water logging, lack of drinking water and garbage dumping are some of the problems ailing the schools.
Elsewhere children are trekking miles to get to school in rural Madhya Pradesh and right in the heart of old Bhopal, there are 5 government schools packed on a single campus, spread over 2.5 acres. While over supply is definitely a problem, an even bigger problem is the decrepit condition of the infrastructure. Over 1,200 students have to wade through water to reach their classroom, carrying the slush to classrooms with wet walls. The travails don’t end here, the school is not even equipped to provide drinking water since the last 6 months and children had to carry their own water even during the scorching summer.
What fails any logical explanation is the concentration of 5 government schools in a single locality, Jehangirabad in Old Bhopal, and why they aren’t spread across the district for better educational reach? What's more shocking is that the campus has become a garbage dumping ground which raises an acrid smell in classrooms.
One of the 5 schools on campus is one of the oldest schools of the city built by the Bhopal Nawab, Rashidiya Government Boys School. The much ignored building is in shambles and on the verge of collapse. The school predates Independence and boasts of an august alumnus. On November 14 last year, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan woke up to the crisis and asked the education department to sanction Rs 10 crore to revamp the campus and build a new building. At last count, at least 400 students are enrolled in Rashidiya School.
Explaining the phenomenon of 5 government schools on the same campus, district education officer, Dharmendra Sharma said, "Before Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in 2001, co-educational schools were not mandatory. So, primary and middle schools were built separately for boys and girls in same premises in Jehangiribad."
The water supply to the campus was disrupted during the laying of Narmada pipelines which damaged underground pipes. "On some stretches, pipes have been pilfered and no effort is being done by BMC to restore water supply," said principal of Girls Higher Secondary School, Barkheda, Smita Meshram.
A class IV student, Rahul said, "During our exams in March-April, the crisis was acute and our teachers brought water for us as many students fell ill." Minister of state for school education, Deepak Joshi, said, "We will look into the water crisis and sort out this problem. The new building is being constructed with two blocks to house all five schools."
Nivedita Bhatnagar, head mistress of Rashidiya Government School, said, "We are unable to provide water to children and despite complaints we are not getting a response from Municipal Corporation. After requests to civic body failed, we paid Rs 20,000 to BMC for garbage removal from the premises, but filth keeps piling.”
Image Courtesy: timesofindia