Education caught in crossfire
Fears drive idea of classes in camps; comprehensive plan urged for students in vulnerable zones
Arteev Sharma
Jammu: With uncertainty looming over the immediate reopening of schools close to the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in five districts of Jammu region, the School Education Department, in consultation with district administrations, is contemplating to conduct classes from relief camps until “stability returns and parents feel secure”.
Sources in the education department told The News Now that the intense cross-border shelling in five districts of Jammu region has caused extensive damage to school buildings and infrastructure, which poses a major challenge for authorities to the immediate resumption of normal classes.
Jammu has a 198-km international border–from Kathua, bordering Punjab, to Akhnoor, north of Jammu–is manned by the BSF. The Army guards 224.5-km of LoC in the south of the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas of Jammu region.
“We have sought a detailed report on the damage caused to the department’s infrastructure. Initial reports showed the damage to 14 schools— including seven primary schools, four middle schools, one high school, one higher secondary school, and a girls’ hostel— all located within a 5 to 7 km radius of the LoC,” said Iftikhar Kazmi, Chief Education Officer (CEO) of the worst-affected Poonch district.
Mohd Mushtaq, Joint Director at the Directorate of School Education Jammu, and currently holding the charge of CEO Jammu, said, “We have not yet received detailed reports on the damage to school buildings and other infrastructure in the district caused by the recent cross-border shelling”.
“Residents have not returned to their native villages, primarily due to security concerns, especially the presence of live shells in the border areas. The areas are currently being sanitized, and a decision on reopening schools will be made only after the sanitization process is complete. Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to conduct classes for students from border areas in relief camps if the situation remains unfavourable,” the officer said.
Sources said there are over 800 schools within a radius of 0-5 km in border villages, which are either closed or face frequent disruptions in normal schooling due to shelling from across the border. The number of students studying in these schools is between 50,000 to 60,000.
“There are nearly 130 schools along the International Border (IB) in Samba district, while Jammu district has around 250 such schools in its border areas. Similarly, more than 250 schools are situated along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, and over 80 in Rajouri. In Kathua district, the number of schools within a 0–5 km radius of the IB stands at over 50,” the sources added.
Kamaljit Singh, a resident of R.S. Pura expressed concern over the safety of children in border areas, stating, “For families living close to the border, the safety of our children is our highest priority. No one is willing to risk their lives for the sake of education. The recent escalation of tension has instilled deep fear among us, and we are reluctant to send our children back to school until the situation normalises.”
A senior official of the education department, who wished not to be named, said, “Such disruptions have become a routine in border belts. There is a need to formulate a plan for the school children studying in vulnerable zones near IB and LoC. We must conduct a detailed survey of all schools near the border, and propose measures to minimize the impact of shelling on children’s education”.
