Aged woman offers her hut for school
The small hamlet of Jandaguda in Ullipitta village of Tiryani mandal is home to around 30 Adivasi families. These families were relocated by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in 2007 to Pangadi which is located in the deep forests, without roads and electricity, and a school. .
For 10 years, the school was run from the hut of a cook, Jekam Pochubai. In 2018, hoping for a better life, they relocated to Jandaguda but did not get a school building, and continued to use Pochubai’s hut.
“We cannot afford to send our kids to private schools. For a long time, we did not have proper roads or electricity. There is no school. We are constantly fighting for a dignified life,” a resident said.
“We relocated to this area hoping for a better future for our kids. Through lots of efforts, we were able to get an anganwadi school with the help of social activists. However, this has not been inaugurated yet.”
Pochubai said, “I have offered my hut because I want to see the children of our village get an education. I cook meals for them. It would be really great if the government provides better facilities and a proper school here.”
The teacher, Ada Venkatesh was recently transferred to Jandaguda. "The situation is not favourable. When it rains, we cancel classes because water leaks through the roof. The previous teachers had urged officials to look into the issues that students face but there has been no action.
The upper primary school with 25 students has one teacher who teaches all subjects. This school lacks a water connection and has portable toilets, one of which is dysfunctional. A borewell is the only source of water.
The power meter was stolen from the school in Ullipitta in March. The teacher and attender discovered this theft when they visited the school on June 2.
“I filed a complaint with the officials as well as the village MPP, who said they will look into the matter. The school has a pending bill of Rs. 40,000, which has not been paid since 1012 years,” said Subash Rathod, the school’s teacher and incharge HM.
Officials at the power office told Deccan Chronicle they were not aware who stole the meter.
Villagers highlighted the need for better transport, well trained staff, drinking water and others, stating that due to a lack of
these, they are sometimes forced to send their kids to the headquarters, some 15km away, to an English medium school.
“If there are better facilities in our locality, life would be much easier for our kids who have to take a shared autorickshaw everyday for such a long distance to attend school," they said, adding that the teachers in Badi Bata programme were urged to ensure that school is converted into English medium. This, they said, would enable them to send their kids to schools, provided that the facilities get a facelift.
The school in Dorli faces similar issues, and the building is dilapidated.
Tiryani and Rebbana incharge mandal education officer (MEO) Venkateshwara Swamy admitted that most of these schools were not in good condition. “Senior officials have been intimated about these issues orally as well through the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE). We are yet to see any response since many years,” he said.
“I’m aware that many schools have payment arrears, particularly power dues. Many of these dues have piled up over
the years. We cannot repay them at once since the funds received from the government are inadequate,” Swamy said.
When asked about Jandaguda school, he said the issue was to be taken care of by the Integrated Tribal Develpment Authority (ITDA). “We provide the UDISE report to the department as well as the state government. We have stated about this issue many times but nothing has changed,” he said.
He said that in Rebbena mandal, schools in Paikajiguda and Rajaram were also in a dilapidated condition since the last five years. “Two-three schools have collapsed and we are operating the schools out in villagers' homes. Every year, the government asks for the report on dilapidated schools. We mention this every time but since my time here no works have been sanctioned. Instead, the government tells us not to conduct classes in dilapidated buildings. We will be blamed in case of any mishap,” Swamy added.
Schools in Durgapur and Kannepalli villages of Tiriyani mandal in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district also face similar issues.