Moga govt school running from community hall for 15 years
MOGA : More than 150 students of Government Primary School, Patti Roopa, in Moga are forced to attend classes in a community hall of a public park as the school does not have its own building.
This despite the fact that the state school education department recently topped the national performance grading index based on the parameters of infrastructure, facilities, access, learning outcomes and governance.
The same hall is being used to cook and serve food to students under the Mid-day Meal scheme. Moreover, there are no separate washrooms for girls and teachers. Besides, the community hall does not have its own power connection.
A teacher requesting anonymity said, “It has been over 15 years since the school is functioning from the park community hall. Earlier, the hall was used by local residents for holding functions.”
The teachers take 7 classes, including pre-primary, simultaneously in the congested space amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They said it is impossible to adhere to social distancing and other Covid safety norms in the room.
The district education department said efforts were being made to resolve the problem and provide a building to the school.
Earlier, the school was being run from a serai (dharamshala) in the area. Later, the serai building was declared unsafe and the school was shifted to the community hall.
“We have got a temporary electricity connection from a nearby building to run the ceiling fans in this hot weather. The power connection the school earlier had was disconnected as we did not have money to clear the pending bills,” said another teacher.
Deputy district education officer (DEO) Gurpreet Kaur said, “Funds have been received for the school building. Land has also been identified for the purpose and construction work will be initiated in a few days.”
Moga MLA Harjot Kamal did not respond to repeated calls and messages.