GHHS Behnipora functions from tin sheds

Kupwara, Oct 15: The lack of accommodation at Government Higher Secondary School, Behnipora, in Rajwar Education Zone is giving a tough time to the students as they attend classes in tin sheds.

The locals said that this school was upgraded in 2008 and since then it has never been a priority for the concerned authorities.

They said that more than 250 students were enrolled in different classes of the school but they were suffering due to lack of accommodation while the concerned authorities were watching the miseries of the students as mute spectators.

An official of the school said that the children from different far-off villages including Behnipora, Satkochi, Dardhaji, Brinal, Rehanzab, Butshungi, Lachampora, Dogerpora, Golipora, Nichihama, and Khanpora were studying here but the lack of accommodation was giving them a tough time.

He said that the school had only seven classrooms including those functioning from tin sheds.

“We had only five classrooms here. So to cope with the space crunch, we constructed a couple of makeshift classrooms. Despite this the school grapples with the issue of accommodation,” he said.

The school not only lacks a proper laboratory but students also suffer due to the absence of a library.

“We don’t have a proper laboratory here. We are forced to buy references and other related material from the market. My father is a labourer by profession. So, for me buying books from the market is next to impossible. Not only me, all students studying here are sailing in the same boat,” a student of class 12th said.

As the school lacks boundary fencing, the students live under constant threat due to apprehensions of wild animal attacks.

“The school is located near a forest area. In the recent past, two children were killed in leopard attacks in a nearby village. The lack of fencing in our school always makes us apprehensive about our wellbeing,” said a class 9th student.

The students are also suffering due to the absence of a mathematics teacher.

“We were being taught mathematics by a master-grade teacher. After his promotion as a lecturer, he was transferred to Pattan. Since then his replacement is yet to be made,” a non-medical student of class 12th said.