Govt. Leaves JKSKK high and dry

Govt. Leaves JKSKK high and dry

Funds falls short to support deaf and dumb. 

Yash Khajuria

JAMMU, Nov 14: At the time where the authorities claim to provide best facilities to the physically disables and to make them skilled, the only institution in Jammu offering education to dumb and deaf students to make them eligible for the life run is on its verge due to unsupportive attitude of the department concerning and the state government.
J&K Samaj Kalyan Kendra (JKSKK) is running Higher Secondary School for Hearing Handicapped under State Board of School Education (JKBOSE) exclusively for duff and dumb children’s at Shaheedi Chowk Jammu since 1981 where hundreds of duff and dumb children’s are learning education free of cost.

The institution which was of secondary level earlier has got the up-gradation by JKBOSE to Higher Secondary Level on 6th August 2012 after the repeated requests of the activists of JKSKK. But the institution is running under severe financial crises and other facilities mandatory for the better education of the students.

Ethically, where it is the duty of the state government to provide education and other facilities to these handicapped students, like the normal students have as they are also the part of the same world and society, the state government has totally closed his eyes and ears towards these handicapped children’s as a consequence they are deprived of quality education despite of their will and dedication.

Roshan Bhan, Principal of the school while talking to TNI has said that they are running under heavy financial crises as the meager annual grant of Rs 70000 provided by the social welfare department is the only assistance on the part of state government out of which Rs 30,000 goes to Custodian department as a rent of the hired building in which school is running.

He further said that due to this financial crises they have deployed only five teachers for teaching more than hundred students that’s too upto higher secondary level on the pay scale between Rs 2400 to Rs 4,000 which is clearly inadequate but doing so as obligation.

He urged to the state government to provide sufficient funds so that they become able to pay adequate salary to the teachers or deploy government teachers for the education of these duff and dumb children’s.

He disclosed that in 1995 they purchased 8 kanals of land from JDA by paying Rs 2 lacs for the residential school as on being the only school in J&K large number of students from the different areas of the state reach there and use to stay in rented homes with one of their parent resulting to the division of family also.

But the land granted by the JDA was a disputed land and in 2006 JDA gave them land at Gole Gujral that’s too on new rates for which they paid Rs 2 lacs more but this time again they were cheated by the JDA despite of giving 2 lacs extra payment and four fencing, the said land was stayed by some unknown person claim that the he is the real owner of the land after which the dream of constructing residential school again got washed and now they are waiting for the court verdict.

He accused the state government for fetching the right of real duff and dumb as the 3 percent reservation as per the handicapped act 1998 including one percent for the duff was amended in 2000 by SRO 62 in which duff was changed to partial duff hence person with the minor problem are taking benefit while the deserving are getting deprived of it.