Government Urdu Medium Schools sans sanitations and other facilities

National father Mahatma Gandhi advocated that children should get their education in their mother tongue itself, so that they can understand, grasp and get perfection in the subjects easily. Generally in India, Muslims’ mother tongue is Urdu language and for the very reason, if Muslims from lower class prefer to send their wards in Urdu Medium schools, it is not only of their need but also they lack money to spend in private schools which annual charges are beyond their reach. Mostly, Urdu medium schools are facing various problems, for which the school management forwarded various complaints to the concerned officials. But there is no change from the attitude of concerned authorities’ as they did turn a deaf ear towards the hue and cry of Urdu Medium schools and their problems.

One who happens to visit in government run Urdu medium schools finds that classrooms are without roof, dusty carpets to sit, single room for three to four classes, no latrines, no drinking water. These are the conditions in which Muslim children use to study in Hyderabad.

As per the data provided after the survey carried out by AP Urdu Academy to which there are 131 govt. Urdu primary schools in Hyderabad mainly located in old city area with total strength of 21,899 Muslim students. This shows nearly 10% of Muslim children in Hyderabad study in govt. Urdu primary schools. This 10% Muslim students are generally from below poverty line level, living in slum areas, lack proper food and clothing and also basic needs.

The survey throws a light on the depressing condition in which this 10% Muslim primary student population try to learn. According to this survey, of the total 21,899 students, 8,366 are boys and 13,533 are girls. And the condition is, out of these 131 govt. Urdu primary schools, 85 schools don’t have proper electricity, and 100 schools lack water drinking facility, 73 primary schools are in rented rooms, only 3339 benches to facilitate more than 21 thousand students, and only 293 black boards in 131 schools. This survey report also showed that there is an urgent requirement of at least 194 primary school teachers, and construction of 310 toilets in Urdu primary schools.

In the case of all Upper Primary and High Schools, Muslim students are 1,44,682 in which 66,321 were boys and 79,361 are girls. According to the Urdu Academy survey there are 15,225 Muslim students in govt. Urdu upper primary and high schools, in which 4,733 are boys and 10,492 are girls. This statistics shows that nearly 15% of high school Muslim students study in govt. Urdu high schools. And this also displays that in govt. Urdu high schools Muslim girls’ ratio is higher than the ratio of Muslim boys.

School students have no text books, there is always very short supply of text books to the schools even though at the time of fresh academic year the strength of the school in every class and required books information forwarded to the concerned authorities, but still the situation didn’t change at all.

Most of the female school teachers happened to pay rent to a nearby house for toilets from their salaries. Many schools male teachers, head masters and boys use to urinate nearby garbage dumb, bushes or walls, as they don’t have any other option. Most of the girl students use to go to their home for toilets and don’t come back to school again, this affects their studies.

Food quantities served under Mid-day Meals scheme in the Urdu medium schools are way below the norms prescribed. According to the Fifth Joint Review Mission’s report revealed that only about 40 to 60 per cent of students are eating mid-day meals in the schools in Hyderabad. In general, 50 per cent of the children come to school without having breakfast, the report observed. Except on the days of egg and ‘daal’, the children are not getting enough proteins, more so in the case of centralized kitchen. All in all, no child is getting the entitled one-third requirement of calories or protein from the school lunch. It is noted that the quality of rice was better in the current academic year when compared to the previous years, the report cited complaints about stones in rice, lumpy, uncooked or grainy rice, unpeeled and grimy vegetables, and insipid and cold meals.

In rainy season while at the beginning of academic year, Urdu medium schools have no proper roof or the roof they have are with many holes from which water recede through it, which cause inconvenience to the students and spoil their books and dresses. There is a need to take various positive and urgent steps to solve the problems to provide proper roof and newly constructed homes, buildings for the students.

There is lack of teachers and no teachers in Urdu medium schools, teachers use to teach three to four different classes in one classroom, which affects the moral of education. Some schools lack nearly all subjects’ teachers. According to the report more than 80,000 students of Urdu medium schools, enrolled in 2012-14, in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are victims of a poor pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). Statistics show that of the 2,682 Urdu medium schools in both states, more than 700 primary schools have a PTR of one teacher instructing more than 30 students, a violation of rules prescribed by Right to Education (RTE) Act.

As, Telangana CM Mr. K Chandra Shekar Rao promised to uplift the Urdu medium schools standards, as he himself fond of Urdu language and it is noted that he is using Urdu words in Assembly and outside. Even though government announces to implement RTE and wants to eradicate illiteracy. It is also conducting Education Fortnight but it seems that government is not doing anything to improve Urdu medium education. There is a need to represent Urdu medium schools’ problems in Telangana government to pay attention and provide proper environment to govt. Urdu medium schools.

By Mohammad Akbar Ali Khan