E-Paper
Ludhiana: Students facing hardships in relocated school setup
In the backdrop of the tragic Baddowal roof collapse, nearly 1,100 students of the Government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, were shifted to the Jawahar Nagar school on September 4, 2023, on a temporary basis
The students of Government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, temporarily relocated to Jawahar Nagar, are facing a hard time due to increased commuting time, evening school shifts amid the chilly weather, and uncertainty of the examination centre for the upcoming board exams.
In the backdrop of the tragic Baddowal roof collapse, nearly 1,100 students of the Government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, were shifted to the Jawahar Nagar school on September 4, 2023, on a temporary basis.
Initially slated to be repaired within four months, as part of the School of Eminence initiative, the school continues to remain under construction despite the academic session approaching its conclusion. Currently, two blocks of the school are under repair and one is in the construction phase.
Commuting to the new location has proven to be a significant hurdle for the students, primarily due to a troublesome railway crossing causing delays both to and from the school.
“Despite the proximity of the old and new locations, the unpredictable nature of train schedules, especially during winter fog, has led students to take risks by crossing the closed railway line,” said a Class12 student, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Moreover, the Jawahar Nagar school is available to students only during the evening shift. This adjustment poses a challenge for junior classes who were accustomed to attending school in the morning, now having to adapt to the evening classes amid chilly weather conditions.
Ankush Kumar, a 12-year-old student who commutes to school by bicycle, remarked, “Earlier, we used to get home by 3:30 pm at the latest, but with the change in shift, the school gets over by 5 pm. In winters, as the night falls early and dense foggy conditions impede visibility, commuting back home becomes challenging.”
The commuting challenges extend to faculty members as well, especially those who come from distant locations. While both students and staff are still adapting to the new environment, they eagerly await the reopening of their own school building in Model Town.
Additionally, with the upcoming board exams, the students are concerned about the allocation of examination centres as the Model Town school is usually the exam centre for the Jawahar Nagar school students, and vice versa.
Principal Vishwakirat Kahlon stated, “After the traumatic incident at Baddowal School, the children were shifted to the nearest school available for their safety. The Jawahar Nagar building was the only nearest one that could accommodate this much strength in a single shift. We expect to move back after the repair work for the two blocks is completed, with the third one continuing to build simultaneously. Our aim is to return by the beginning of the academic session in April.”
In August, 2023, a tragic incident of a roof collapse at the Government Senior Secondary School, Baddowal, during renovation, caused the demise of teacher Ravinder Kaur, 45, and injuries to three other teachers.
