Kulgam, Apr 11: A viral video showing students crossing a stream to attend school at Nandimarg in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district led to authorities throwing open a completed school building within a day.
Residents of two villages while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said the building, whose construction began in 2018, had remained unused, resulting in congestion in the existing school and inconvenience for students who had to walk nearly two kilometres and cross the stream daily.
They said making the building functional will have a positive impact on the ground and ease the hardships faced by students.
Officials said that, taking cognisance of the circulating video, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Kulgam, on the directions of the Education Minister, visited the area to assess the situation.
During the visit, it was found that nearly 90 students from the upper areas of Nandimarg were forced to cross a flowing stream daily due to the absence of a bridge, posing serious risks to their safety.
Considering the gravity of the issue, authorities decided on the spot to start academic activities for Classes 9th and 10th at a newly constructed double-storey school building in the upper belt, which had remained non-functional for years.
Officials said three subject-specific teachers have been deployed at the new facility to ensure uninterrupted education, thereby eliminating the need for students to cross the stream.
With the arrangement now in place, students are now attending classes safely and academic activities have resumed smoothly, they said.
Chief Education Officer Kulgam, Abdul Gani Bhat, told KNO that the issue has been resolved and necessary arrangements have been made at both locations.
“The building, constructed at a cost of Rs 95 lakh for High School Nandimarg, had remained non-functional for a long time. Due to space constraints in the existing school and the risk involved in crossing the stream, we have now made the new building functional for Classes 9th and 10th. Students of these classes will continue to attend classes at both locations as per the arrangement,” he said. (KNO)
