In This Punjab Village Locals Are Paying The Rent To Keep A Government School Running
The Government Primary School at Fatehpur Awana village about 10 km from Ludhiana runs from a rented house. But instead of the government the rent is being paid by the villagers for the past two months since they cant bear the thought of 140 children not attending school The schools original building which had been declared unsafe was demolished in September.
Here's a situation you are unlikely to find anywhere else in the country. The Government Primary School at Fatehpur Awana village, about 10 km from Ludhiana, runs from a rented house.
But instead of the government, the rent is being paid by the villagers for the past two months since they can't bear the thought of 140 children not attending school.
Times of India
The school's original building, which had been declared unsafe, was demolished in September. The government, however, is yet to release funds for the reconstruction of the building.
Following Punjab and Haryana high court directions, director general of school education Pradeep Aggarwal had earlier instructed all district education officers to demolish unsafe buildings. Barring one room, the entire building of the Fatehpur Awana school was demolished.
Looking for an alternative place to run classes, the teachers had approached a local gurdwara but their request was turned down. "We couldn't have stopped running classes and some villagers suggested that we rent a house," said Mukesh Saini, the head teacher.
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The teachers were willing to contribute towards the rent, but the villagers insisted that prominent people from among them would take turns to pay it. A three-room building close to the school was taken on a monthly rent of Rs 5,000.
Soon, classes II, IV and V started running in the new building. Students of Class I were, however, made to sit in the only room of the old school building that was declared safe. The rented building has space to accommodate only half of the 50 students of Class III. So, the rest are made to sit in the corridor of the old school.
Schoolteachers said the school did not have desks and they borrowed 20 from a nearby small private school, which was shut down last month. The other students have to sit on mats.
Balwinder Singh, a resident who volunteered to pay the rent twice, said villagers will keep paying to ensure the education of children is not affected.
