Mirza — Funds amounting to millions of rupees, that have reportedly been pumped in to develop the educational scenario of Assam, have not yet reached some of the backward difficult terrains till date.
This is proved by the lack of a single school at Bardia (Lahichari) village under Chhaygaon Block Elementary Education Office (BEEO) in Palasbari LAC in Kamrup district for the over 2000 children of the village.
Located in a far-flung inaccessible riverine area, the Bardia (Lahichari) village, is surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra river from all sides and can be reached only by engine-fitted boats.
According to Mukadesh Ali (50) of Bardia (Lahichari), the village was established over 15 years back in the riverine areas by the flood-stricken families and there are over 1500 families in the village at present. He said that there is not a single school in the village, depriving thousands of children from school education. “The Government has also not made any effort to set up a school in the area till date,” he rued.
“There is not a single youth in our village having a matriculation certificate and we had set up a venture school in our village, three years back and had asked a teacher from a remote village to take classes, but he (the teacher) abandoned the school two years back. The school is now not functioning for the last two years due to the lack of a teacher. There is only one handicapped matriculate girl in our village who is my daughter and we could not engage her in our school as she is currently preparing for her 10+2 standard examination in a remote village in Chhaygaon LAC ,” he said.
Kaifiat Ali, another resident told this correspondent that over 1,500 children in the age group of 4-10 years are sitting idle in their respective homes without getting education due to the lack of a school in the village.
He further said that less than 150 students go to a remote school located about 4 km away at Gamburapam (Borchulia) village under Hajo LAC but these students have to cross a big tributary of the Brahmaputra to reach their school.
“During monsoons, all areas of our village become marooned as our village is surrounded by the Brahmaputra and the students who go to the school at Gamburapam, cannot go and have to sit at home for over six months,” he said.
Matleb Ali, the president of the Saportary GP, said that non-availability of a school in Bardia (Lahichari) village is a cause of grave concern and he asked the officials to immediately survey the area and set up a special school in the village to educate the children there, reported The Assam Tribune.
Sources said that as per the new guidelines, at least one school need be set up within every one km, but in case of the said village, a school is not available even up to a radius of 3-4 km. In such a huge area, there should be at least two primary and one ME school, they added.