17 February, 2023 – Moga : Over 100 years after a government school was opened at Guru Teg Bahadur Garh in Baghapurana subdivision of the district, the institution is now battling for its existence due to alleged apathetic attitude of successive state governments in the past two decades.

Established in 1920 during the British Raj, Government Senior Secondary School, Guru Teg Bahadur Garh, Rode, once inspired the state government to establish an educational hub in the area. A government polytechnic and a degree college were opened by the government in the vicinity of the school, giving an opportunity to students of at least 25 nearby villages to complete their diploma and degree courses near their home for better career opportunities.

Gurcharan Singh Brar, an octogenarian resident of the village, says, “It is amazing how deep the presence of the school runs in nearby villages. Almost every household in Rode and its adjoining villages has someone who has been educated at this school. Local people have a special connection with this school.”

He said the school had imparted quality education to poor kids of this region for over 100 years. “The state government must restore its pride and make it a school of eminence by restoring/preserving the infrastructure and appointing regular teachers as per the sanctioned strength,” he said.

Dilbagh Singh Brar, Principal of the school, said the institution was declared a smart school by the government a few years ago, but the enrolment of students in the school decreased over the past few years after the closure of the science and commerce streams. The science stream was closed in 2004 while the commerce stream was closed in 2020 after the transfer of teachers. The government did not fill these vacancies forcing the students to migrate to other schools.

“The strength of this school has always been good with 700 to 800 students for decades but after the closure of science and commerce streams, it has drastically declined to just 218 students,” the school principal said, urging the government to fill the vacancies of teachers.

He said the sanctioned strength of teachers was 35, but only 18 were there at present. “We have made local arrangement of a teacher under the PTA scheme,” he said.

The school has 24 computers to impart computer education to the students and a good library with over 6,500 books, but a lot needs to be done to maintain the decades-old-building and attract more students to the school. “Recently, we received Rs 2.5 lakh for whitewash and minor repairs, which has been spent to give a facelift to the school,” the Principal said.

The school has a track of 400 metres for athletics, a football ground and facilities for other games, but there is no physical education teacher.

Courtesy : The Tribune