Bhikangaon (Madhya Pradesh): Amid the entire country celebrating the 74th Republic Day, school kids from one of the Government Primary Schools in Bhikangaon tehsil of Khargone district were forced to unfurl the Tri-colour under a tree near the school building which is lying in shambles as concerned authorities have turned a blind eye towards the plight of the students. An incident was reported at Kukdiya Muhal village under Narvat Janpad Panchayat which falls under Jhirniya block where students are forced to attend classes in rooms which were constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Rural (PMAY-R).
The rooms belong to one Sheru Pathan, who allows a school to run classrooms since he did not want village kids to be deprived of primary education. Villagers claimed that the school building is lying in shambles for the last four years, but the administration hardly bothers to listen to their plight. A teacher of the school said that villagers of the area approached higher authorities and even the local MLA, but no repair work was initiated till date. During rain, the school is often closed. They said there is a demand from the people of the area to upgrade the old school to High School level, but to no avail. This is not the only school in the area, but many of the government primary schools in the region are facing the same fate at a time when the government spends huge sums to improve the quality of primary education in remote areas in the state.
About 90 schools in the Jhirniya block are solely dependent on guest teachers. When contacted the block resource coordinator (BRC) Raghvendra Joshi admitted that the classrooms are being run from the rooms constructed under the PMAY-R. Joshi added that they had sent proposal for a new building again and hopefully it will be cleared soon. On the appointment of permanent teachers, Joshi said that as many as 90 schools are running with guest teachers since we do not have permanent teachers for this school. We will check and if the guest teacher does not come regularly, then he will be removed, he added.
