7 years of silence: A school on a hill in Keran waits for its teachers

Kupwara, Nov 1: Perched on a windswept hillock in Mando, a remote village along the Line of Control in the Keran sector, stands a silent school building — its doors locked, classrooms empty, and blackboards untouched for seven long years. Once a beacon of hope for children of this far-flung hamlet in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the Government Primary School Mando today lies abandoned — a grim reminder of official apathy and the deep disconnect between policy and ground reality.

The school was established nearly two decades ago under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to ensure that children from this isolated settlement could receive education without enduring the long and often perilous journey to schools in Keran town, some three kilometres away. For years, two local Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers kept the school alive, teaching over 20 students in cramped classrooms amid biting cold and erratic supplies.

That changed in 2019 when both teachers were absorbed into the general line cadre — a move that left the school without staff. Since then, no replacements have been posted, leaving the institution locked and lifeless.

“We have made countless pleas to the Education Department, but nothing has happened,” said a resident. “Our children’s future is at stake. The terrain here is tough — they can’t cross streams and steep slopes every day just to attend another school.”

The closure has had a devastating impact. Many children dropped out entirely; others trek for hours to reach the nearest functioning school. In winter, when heavy snow cuts off Mando from the rest of Keran, education becomes a distant dream.

Mando village itself lacks even the most basic amenities — no proper roads, erratic power supply, and scarce healthcare. The absence of education, locals say, has compounded their isolation.

Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Kralpora, Ali Mohammad, confirmed that the school has remained closed for the last seven years due to the non-availability of teachers. “The matter has been brought to the notice of higher authorities for necessary action,” he said.

But for the parents in Mando, promises mean little until they hear the sound of a teacher’s voice echoing once again in the quiet classrooms of their hilltop school.