Though the involvement and engagement of teachers and as well as students of Government schools in the just concluded colourful parades at almost all the Independence parades across Jammu & Kashmir has been exemplary but unfortunately Government schools are yet to become the places of public attraction due to unwanted delays in the development infrastructural facilities which is also a cause for delay in achieving the targets of quality education in Government schools. While people are glad to see private schools raising the standards of infrastructural facilities year after year in their journey to quality education , the grievances of both the teachers and as well as the students of Government schools on infrastructural development remain unaddressed and consequently unresolved. While irrefutable fact is that greater accountability of both the teachers and the students of Govt Schools has facilitated their participation at the Independence day parades but people at the helm of affairs in School Education Department can’t also deny the fact that the enrolment drives alone won’t make Government Schools places of public attraction. Never forget that greater enrolment in government schools would consequently facilitate greater participation of children in events of national importance like Independence day .Though Lt Governor has himself recently said that priority of his government are education and health and funds are not an issue for development of infrastructure either at Government hospitals or at Government schools, but recently a report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has raised it’s concerns over delays in the submission of utilisation certificates by different departments of Jammu & Kashmir Government .
The CAG’s observations on delays in submission of utilisation certificates by different departments if viewed seriously by School Education Department for the purposes of appropriate administrative action would probably reduce unprecedented delays in the construction of schools buildings and development of other infrastructural facilities at Government schools. While the targets of increasing enrolments at Government schools can’t be achieved in fixed timelines without making them places of public attraction by developing the infrastructure facilities, there is no short cut to accelerate the process of infrastructural development at Government schools.
Unfortunately grievances are also galore that Government schools in remote rural areas are still run from rented semi concrete buildings as even after identifying the land for construction of school buildings and allotting the contracts the construction of schools buildings is not completed in fixed timelines. The CAG’s observations on delays in submission of utilisation certificates by different departments if viewed seriously by School Education Department for the purposes of appropriate administrative action would probably reduce unprecedented delays in the construction of schools buildings and development of other infrastructural facilities at Government schools. While the targets of increasing enrolments at Government schools can’t be achieved in fixed timelines without making them places of public attraction by developing the infrastructure facilities, there is no short cut to accelerate the process of infrastructural development at Government schools.
