Chiading, Aug 8: Reports of the absolutely pathetic condition of many lower and middle schools in the Garo Hills, is not the nadir that one could imagine in the region. There are even more pitiable schools whose situation will make the most hardened of people cringe at what some students and teachers face on a daily basis.
A visit through two schools (amongst 4) this week through in and around the village of Chiading in East Garo Hills has broadened horizons beyond what is humanly tolerable. We bring you more on these schools in this report.
The schools fall under the Songsak constituency represented by Mukul Sangma.
Dilma Mandalgipe SSA LP School
The school lies just about 200 metres from the village market of Chiading and bang opposite St. George’s School (a privately-run institution) and about 500 metres from another private school, Agape. Both these private schools are flourishing with headcounts beyond hundreds though in the case of the Mandalgipe School, the situation is dire.
The school has an enrolment of 20 students who are taught by 2 teachers. It has a total of 4 separate units with at least 7 classrooms besides a staff room. It had earlier boasted of an enrolment of over 50 but it slowly changed south with the advent of private schools and an infrastructure that cries out in angst for those still forced to use these facilities. A first visit to the school was paid last month in June but from the looks of the school, one felt the place had been abandoned. There could be no way that children could be made to study in these types of facilities. A few chats later, the situation became clear – the school is functional and has students. Due to it being the summer holiday, a report was not made.
On Wednesday (August 6), another visit was paid and this time despite the rain.
The first sight that you saw was the outside of the school, seemingly without activity until one looked closely to find some children huddled in corners where the rain was not seeping through while the teacher did her best to impart education.
The first room had most of the tin blown away and is not used to teach. In the second, there were at least 5 children who sat in benches under sections of the roof that still stood intact. Rain water covered the entire floor that they were in. The room in the same row has been condemned and cannot be used, even by animals.
The next section has also been abandoned as the entire structure is unusable. In the 3rd section, another group of children set in parts where rain water does not seep through. If it rains, classes are impossible to take.
The only structure that still felt like a place where humans can live with dignity was the staff room, though even in this one, there were holes in the roof.
“We use this room for keeping important documents, including text books, note books, MDM eatables but we are not able to protect them when it lashes down hard. Further the entire floor has been damaged in all the rooms in the school with children having to continue their studies in sometimes flooded floors,” informed the head teacher.
She informed that the state of the school has been informed to the education authorities as well as Block officials in the hope that repairs could be undertaken but gave up after everyone was non committal despite their situation.
The school began in the year 2009.
“As SSA teachers we are paid very low. Despite this, I tried many times, using my own money to move to do something about the school. I gave up in 2021-22 as nothing positive came out of it. I was only wasting my money,” she stated.
The school grant that they get (Rs 10,000 with GST being deducted) hardly suffices to ensure the needs of the school is maintained, despite which they infused some of the cash to repair parts of the school, including the staff room.
As if mirroring the neglect education gets in the region, a rake that was sent to the school by the education department lay within the staff room. Apparently everything was sent except for the nuts and bolts to make the rake usable.
Barring the staff room, none of the other classrooms have doors with most of the windows missing. What is even more exasperating is that the CRC of the Block lives in the same village and knows the situation being faced by the school but nothing has moved the department to take up repairs.
The lack of doors and windows has now made the school a joint for merry making during the evenings with alcohol drinkers making it their den during many evenings.
What will absolutely make anyone cringe is the fact that these merry makers make sure to leave behind their mark – some by urinating within the classrooms and some by leaving their feces on the floor. Imagine the plight of children who come the next day and have to clean up the mess before resuming classes. “We have to skip classes during heavy rains but it is the enthusiasm of these children, who want an education, despite the challenges faced, that keeps us going,” added the head teacher. One positive she added was the fact that they were currently getting their salaries every month.
Dilma Chiading Ad-Hoc UP School
The school lies just above the Chiading market and has an enrollment of 19 this year. As is the case with most UP schools, there are 4 teachers to cater to the students and while the condition of the school is not really the worst that has been reported, tin leaks make studying within a living hell.
“We have used the maintenance money last year to set up the roof as it was destroyed. However due to the lack of funds, we couldn’t ensure quality roofing. The false ceiling was blown off long ago and the hallway has large holes where protection should have been,” informed the head teacher.
This year, no grant has been forthcoming.
During the discussion, it was revealed that the earlier headmaster (who has now been removed) misappropriated money meant for the development of the school which meant the school turned out worse than what it should have been.
Another section, that used to serve as the school earlier, lay completely abandoned.
The irony of the entire thing was the office of the CRC lay just to the right of the school though during the time of the visit, it was under lock and key. The building though did not mirror the condition of nearby schools – it was perfectly fine, without leaks.
