Without a school, Baramulla’s Gujarpati kids trek 3 km daily for education

Baramulla, Aug 28: Situated at a distance of around five kilometres from the main town, Gujarpati village in Baramulla district continues to remain without a school, forcing kids to trek nearly three kilometres to get education in a neighbouring village.

The residents of the area told Greater Kashmir that the non-availability of a school in the village left most of the students unlettered as they cannot trek on a daily basis to the neighbouring village for education.

“The kids do not dare to trek to the neighbouring village (Binner) for education because they have to pass through rough terrain and there always remains an apprehension of wild animals. We all work as labourers and cannot accompany our kids to the school which is three kilometers away from here,” said Muhammad Sadiq Khan, an elderly resident of the village.

According to Khan, with no access to education at an appropriate age, the kids of this village join the schools in Binner (3kms away) at the age of seven or eight years.

“To join the school either we resort to forge the date of birth of children or look for other means to get the admission in the school,” he said.

As per the policy in vogue and Right to Education (TRE) Act, the government has to ensure that a primary school is accessible to kids within a radius of one Kilometre.

But Gujarpati Village of Baramulla is yet to see its first school in 2025 when the government is making tall claims of universalisation of education across Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have repeatedly raised this issue with the local administration for the last many years but the government is yet to establish a school here,” Khan said.

Khan was flanked by other residents who said the successive regimes have failed to provide opportunities of easy access to education.

This village awaits its first school at a time when the government schools are haphazardly set up in towns and cities the teachers, in most of the cases outnumber the students in schools, raising questions on the government claims of Universalisation of education- making free and compulsory education a universal right for all children, regardless of their background.

Besides education, the village has no road connectivity as well.

“Some eight years ago, the then MLA Rafiabad (Yawar Mir) provided funds for the execution of construction work of the road. Some work was done here but the road is not yet motorable. Few years ago (after delimitation) this village was made part of Baramulla constituency. But nobody cares for us now,” the villagers said.

The parents said that lack of connectivity and education is adding to the miseries of the villagers.

“The status of education can be gauged from the fact that none from this village is a government employee. We all are associated with daily labour. We have apprehensions that our upcoming generations will also remain uneducated if the government will not act,” the villagers told Greater Kashmir.

Deputy Chief Education Officer Baramulla, Iftikhar Ahmad when contacted said a school titled “Primary or Middle School Gujarpati” exists on official records.

“But we will check the location of this school and the distance from the village,” he said.