Ampati, Oct 27: Undaunted by the education department’s apathy towards repair of their village’s government LP School, residents of Jewilgre along with the C&RD office of Rerapara, took up repairs of a school through MGNREGS.
The village in question falls under the district of South West Garo Hills (SWGH) and had been damaged in a storm more than seven years ago.
“We had written to the education department on several occasions and even met the officers seeking help in repairing our local school. However despite our appeals, the department cited the lack of funds. This was extremely disappointing and frustrating at the same time,” said one of the villagers.
As per them, the school’s roof had been blown off and the doors and windows were completely damaged. Getting an education in such a scenario was a challenge that the villagers didn’t want their children to go through.
“There were umpteen holidays as the children could not study during the rains. This was completely affecting the lives of the children as well as the teachers meant to teach them. Our people did not have the resources to complete the repairs on our own and felt completely let down by the situation,” added another villager.
The school currently has an enrollment of over 70 with two teachers on education duty for them.
It was during this challenging time that the villagers held a meeting seeking ways to ensure repairs to the school.
Realising they had to think out of the box for a solution, the villagers decided to approach the C&RD office of Rerapara to see if there was a way through which the school repair could be undertaken.
An approach was made to the then BDO, Raymond ZD Shira and the DC, Ram Kumar S for a solution after which the villagers decided to work on the solution through the use of job cards.
It was decided therein that repair works could be undertaken using MGNREGS as this was something that concerned the entire village itself.
A total of about Rs 8 lakhs was allocated for the project. The entire construction was supported by the job card holders of the village with materials, including CGI sheets, planks, doors, windows, floors being added components in the project. The school, through the efforts of the village and the Block was completed within a span of 1 month.
Work on the project started in the month of February, 2019 and was completed in March the same year. All this while the department meant to ensure infrastructure and quality education, looked on.
“We are extremely grateful to the BDO and the DC for their help. It is only due to their efforts that our children have a roof over their school and can get an education without the thought of the weather. The school has remained in a pristine state since the repair was undertaken,” added another villager.
Commenting on the situation, social activist, Maxbirth G Momin stated, “The repair of the school should have been the priority of the education department but the continued lack of funds for repair is mind boggling. The villagers taking it up through their own hard earned money, is indicative of where we stand on education. It is no wonder why Garo Hills is so far behind the state and the country in the sphere of education.”
