Marbal govt school sans basic teaching facilities

Baramulla, Mar 19: The government boys elementary school in Marbal hamlet in north Kashmir’s Sopore, established in 1985, has fallen into disrepair, lacking infrastructure and basic teaching facilities.
For over four decades, the school has operated in two rooms and continues to beg the attention of concerned authorities.
Despite the education department’s continuing special enrollment campaign, the school is in a grave state with only two instructors and no suitable accommodation facilities. To make matters worse, the school is suffering from a severe teacher shortage.
Locals in Marbal Sopore informed Rising Kashmir that the school, which caters to pupils up to the fifth grade and has over 60 students enrolled, is situated in a structure that has been declared unsafe in 2014.
When contacted, the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Fayaz Ahmad told Rising Kashmir that the department doesn’t have enough land for construction of a new building and administration needs to look into that area.
“The construction could not be executed due to land unavailability. The locals have encroached the land. We have been allocated funds for construction of two washrooms but due to unavailability of land we couldn’t,” ZEO Dangerpora Sopore added.
The ZEO added that there is an acute shortage of teachers also in the school and they are hopeful to receive a fresh batch of teachers to tackle the scarcity of staff.
The locals expressed concerns over the deplorable conditions of the school, stating that the floors were damaged, windows and tables were broken, and the building was unfit for use way back in 2014.
“Due to the inadequate infrastructure, the students have been forced to study in two rooms,” Nazir Ahmad Dar, a parent said.
He lamented the quality of infrastructure being provided by the government, adding that the authorities were not living up to their promises.
Local residents have also voiced their concerns highlighting the absence of any fencing around the school’s vicinity and a nearby nallah posing a risk of untoward incidents.
“The issue has been brought to the attention of the school education department, but no action has been taken so far,” the locals added.
The school was recently upgraded, and students were merged into this primary school building. However, no additional building has been provided to the school.
Altaf Ahmad Dar, a resident, emphasized the need to shift the school to a safer location as the condition of the building can put students’ lives at risk.
Meanwhile, the school education department has launched a 10-day special enrollment drive, hoping to attract a higher number of new entrants to government schools.