Even as Assam takes pride in its journey towards becoming a "developed state," reality on the ground is anything but that for some—at least so far as education is concerned. Located within the Sribhumi area under the South Karimganj constituency is an incongruous address: the 1144 No. Purba Khagail Lower Primary School. With only 72 students and a pitiful few teachers, it is nothing more than a survival location and not a measure of progress.
The school, if a school it is, runs under conditions that would render even the barest minimum a luxury. Cracked walls, cracked floors, no proper furniture, non-functional toilets, and one dilapidated tin-roofed building are the sole classroom for children who can dream big. Class is usually adjourned—or sometimes even cancelled—on rainy days because rainwater pours in from roof leakages.
But every morning, children come in uniform, their books and expectations, unblemished by what they see. Teachers too have turned into caregivers—sweeping the floors, comforting frightened children during thunderstorms, and doing everything they can to create a sense of learning.
The people complain that they have raised the issue time and again, but nothing concrete is done except making verbal promises. "Politicians" come to our doorstep at election time, take pictures, and vanish," said a mother. "Our children want more. They want respect."
What's ironic is the yawning gap between Assam's digital literacy initiatives and smart classrooms, and schools here in disrepair. While metros boast of coding classes and e-learning material, children here wait for decent tables and drinking water.
True development begins at the grassroots level. No manner of possibility that a state can pride itself on progress when the youngest minds are lying on dirty floors under decayed roofs. If indeed we are to invest in the future, then we begin by securing the present—especially where the present has been so long neglected.
