In Tulail’s chill, children still wait for a school that burned 3 years ago

Baramulla, Oct 6: Tucked away in the snowbound valleys of Tulail in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, the Government Middle School Manzgund stands as a forgotten reminder of official neglect. Nearly three years after it was gutted in a devastating fire, the school remains without a permanent building — leaving its students and teachers to struggle in cramped, rented rooms.

The fire, reportedly triggered by a short circuit in 2023, had reduced the school building to ashes. Some nearby residential houses were also damaged in the incident. What followed was a temporary arrangement — and a long wait that continues even today.

With 50 students and only three teachers, classes are now being conducted in a rented accommodation comprising just three small rooms. “Almost three years have passed, but we are yet to have a proper building for our school,” said a teacher, frustration evident in his voice.

He recalled that officials from the education department visited the site several times, inspected the damage, and promised reconstruction. “But nothing concrete has happened. It becomes extremely difficult to accommodate nine classes in only three rooms,” he said.

The impact on the students has been severe. In the absence of adequate classrooms, the teachers are forced to club multiple classes together. The learning environment, already constrained by limited infrastructure, has deteriorated further.

“A student feels motivated to come to school when he is provided basic facilities. But here, they study in overcrowded rooms without space to sit comfortably,” another teacher said. “This situation discourages students and affects their academics.”

The school, like many in the remote Gurez and Tulail belt, caters to children who rely entirely on government institutions for education, as private schools are virtually non-existent in the region. Teachers say that the prolonged delay in rebuilding the school amounts to denying these students their right to a proper education.

Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Gurez, Reyaz Ahmad Sheikh, confirmed that the school building was completely damaged in the fire and said that reconstruction falls under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

“We have already included the school in the proposal submitted to the project directorate under Samagra. The building is yet to be sanctioned, but we expect the new structure to be constructed by 2026,” Sheikh said.

He added that the local MLA recently visited the site and assured that the building would be sanctioned soon. “The MLA has assured us that the new building will likely be constructed by March next year,” the ZEO said.

For now, the students of Manzgund continue to learn in a setting that barely qualifies as a school — waiting for the day when promises turn into walls, and classrooms no longer mean cramped rented rooms in a remote valley.