Education at a standstill: Hundreds of schools buildings left incomplete
Srinagar, Oct 14: Around hundreds of school buildings have been left abandoned in the J&K School Education Department (SED) with no watch and ward from the competent authorities.
An official said these buildings were approved under the erstwhile Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme for strengthening of infrastructure in schools across J&K.
However, the buildings have been left unattended as the concerned contractors have left the construction midway on these school buildings.
“There is no watch and ward of the department on these buildings as these structures have not been handed over to the education department,” the official said.
On Tuesday, the issue about the abandoned school buildings was discussed in the review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his cabinet colleagues at Dak Bungalow Baramulla.
During the meeting, it was informed that around 400 buildings are lying unattended in the Baramulla district alone.
An official said crores of rupees have been utilised by the department under centrally sponsored schemes, for construction purposes, but these buildings have not been utilised so far, defeating the purpose of strengthening the school infrastructure.
The official said the construction of these buildings was entrusted to different executing agencies, including Village Education Committees (VECs) and Public Works (R&B) Department.
“Work on various school buildings was left in mid-way due to cost escalation, as the project was not completed on time. There was a set deadline fixed for the completion of the school buildings, but work on several buildings was not taken on time, due to which the project faced cost escalation and the construction was halted midway,” the official said.
As of now, hundreds of these school buildings are lying unattended at a time when the school education department is facing a crisis in providing adequate classroom facilities to the students in schools.
Amid this, the SED is facing a major challenge of an accommodation crisis in schools. The education minister earlier also acknowledged the infrastructural gaps in the education sector, saying that steps will be taken to fill these gaps.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Minister for Education Sakina Itoo said the government has given instructions to the department to assess these unattended school buildings.
“We will see how many of these buildings are safe to use. We will do some repairs and renovations of buildings, which will be in better condition,” Sakina Itoo told Greater Kashmir.
She said the buildings have been left unattended in the past, resulting in infrastructural gaps in schools.
