Ensure boundary walls in all schools, DGSE writes to DCs

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 18

Finally, it seems the plea of schools, which don’t have boundary walls, has been heard by the authorities. The Director General of School Education (DGSE) has shot letters to Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in the state and asked them to ensure construction of the outer boundary walls of all government schools in their respective districts.

In all, there are 324 schools in Ludhiana district, which do not have boundary walls. Ludhiana city has 13 government schools where boundary wall is yet to be constructed.

Letters were shot to the DCs after a petition was filed by HC Arora, an advocate in the Punjab State Child Rights Protection Commission, for constructing outer boundary walls of all government schools to prevent animals straying inside campus and injuring students.

After the letter, hope has rekindled even for the Government Primary School at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), which has been without a boundary wall from the last 39 years.

The PAU Government Primary School head, Amarpreet Kaur, said they had been writing regularly to the department, but to no avail. The school recently turned into a smart school, but the wall was still not constructed.

“In the absence of boundary wall there is no security for teachers as well as students. Sometimes stray dogs keep roaming near classes. Students are frightened to go out of classes even for drinking water,” said a teacher on the condition of anonymity.

“It’s common to see stray animals come near classes as there is no boundary wall and farms are adjacent to the school,” said another teacher from Government Primary School, Ghundani.

“Providing safe environment is the first responsibility of schools. We have been regularly asking the school head to construct boundary wall, but even she is helpless as there are no funds,” said Gurmeet Kaur, whose ward studies at Government School, Mangli Nichi.

In his orders, the DGSE, Mohammad Tayyab, has asked DCs to use funds available under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) for constructing boundary walls of all government schools falling under their jurisdiction.

What the orders say

• In his orders, the DGSE, Mohammad Tayyab, has asked DCs to use funds available under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) for constructing boundary walls of all government schools falling under their jurisdiction. 

Fact file

• District with maximum number of schools without boundary wall: Patiala 54
• District with least number of schools without boundary wall: Barnala 1
• District where there is no school without boundary wall: Fatehgarh Sahib
• Schools in Ludhiana district without boundary wall: 13