Tuesday, September 27, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Municipal school opens after 10 years

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/municipal-school-opens-after-10-years/852341/

Municipal school opens after 10 years

Express news service Posted: Sep 27, 2011 at 0226 hrs
Ahmedabad Following a sustained movement by local social workers and a
number of frustrated parents withdrawing their children over the past
four years, a municipal school was restarted after a gap of 10 years
on Monday. The school was damaged in the 2001 earthquake.

The school building located near the famous monument of Shaking
Minarets in Gomtipur area housed two Gujarati-medium schools, Rajpur
Gujarati Shala No. 3 and 4, which were run in two shifts. They mostly
catered to Dalit children. The building was damaged badly in the
January 2001 temblor. In view of danger of the building collapsing,
the children were moved to another building located one km away. In
the process, several children dropped out to never come back.

The building had developed cracks also after construction of a water
tank on a nearby plot but it was not repaired despite several
representations, according to local councillor Iqbal Shaikh. "This
forced us and local volunteers to start an agitation. Now, the
authorities have decided to restart one of the two schools from
Monday," he said.

According to Shaikh, the two schools in this building had nearly 1,200
students but after shifting them to other buildings, the number of
students, mostly Dalits, fell drastically.

Former school board member Habib Mev said he had drawn the attention
of board officials in February 2010 following which children were
moved to another building a km away. But complaints about attempts of
molesting girl students by outside elements in the new premises
ensured an exodus-like situation, leaving the student strength to
merely 600 to 700. Shaikh also gave similar reasons for the students
dropping out.

"Even today, when the school building is restarted, it will
accommodate students of only one school," said Shaikh. The building
still lacks electric supply, fans and security arrangements, Shaikh
added.

School board chairman Jagdish Bhavsar, who took charge only recently,
said he had asked for details as soon as the matter was brought to his
notice. "I immediately sent the officials to the spot and got the
students of morning shift (class six to eight) transferred here from
today while transfer of the afternoon shift students will take some
more time," he said.


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