Peerzada Zubair
Kupwara: Students, teachers at Government Primary school Khumriyal village in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are facing a tough time as the classrooms are submerged under rainwater.
Students at Government Primary School in Khumriyal, and their teachers are experiencing difficulties in conducting academic activities, as the school classrooms become flooded even after a light to moderate rain.
Students described their sufferings to this reporter and said the school building is in a dilapidated state, the walls are damp and rainwater seeps through. Water also seeps into the classroom. They complained that the waterlogging issue in the classrooms forces them to leave school. The students, however, appealed to the higher authorities of education to look into the issue.
The school management told Kashmir Despatch they had been facing the waterlogging problem for many years and despite taking up the matter with the higher authorities, nothing concrete had been done so far.
The school building having three classrooms was constructed at a huge cost of around 19 lakh rupees which the residents say has been a sheer waste of government exchequer. Mostly children of poor parents are enrolled in the school which is threatening to collapse as the walls are submerged in rainwater.
The residents meanwhile demanded a probe into alleged embezzlement of funds committed by Zonal Education Officer Mumtaz Ahmad in 2013.
Zonal Education Officer Khumriyal Ghulam Ahmad told Kashmir Despatch that I visited the school after getting information about this issue, he said students will be shifted to a rented building for their safety.
ZEO said he would raise the issue with higher authorities so that action is taken before an accident occurs.
