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OFFTRACK:
JAMMU
AND KASHMIR
Alphabet Coup
A
snowbound village starts its children off on a brighter future
By Natasha
Israni
It
could be a scene straight out of a pastoral. Tall maize plants swaying
slightly in the cold mountain breeze, a wood-and-stone house with red-cheeked
children inside, reciting nursery rhymes. And when the booming sounds
roll in from the surrounding heights, you expect to see storm clouds gathering.
It's only when the house trembles that you realise it's not thunder. Unperturbed,
a little girl, her face fringed by a white scarf, will tell you it's artillery
fire. For the people of Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir, shells from across
the Line of Control are a way of life. Even in schools.
Gurez is
a beautiful valley, but you are not likely to find it marked on tourist
maps. Around 200 km from Srinagar, its few roads remain snow-blocked for
almost six months a year. Life is therefore hard in the vale, especially
for students, who are forced to attend Urdu-medium primary schools, the
closest English-medium school being 80 km away at Bandipore. Gurezis usually
fare dismally at the state-level competitive exams due to their unfamiliarity
with English. They are taught in Urdu and when required to change to English
from Class IX on, are found wanting.
For five
years, however, around 100 bright-eyed children have been learning their
ABCs right in the small village of Dawar at an altitude of 8,000 ft. Look
carefully beyond the maize plants and you see a board bravely announcing:
"Habba Khatoon English Medium School. God teacheth man which He kneweth
not." Conceived by a group of government employees from Gurez in
1995, the school imparts education in English up to Class V.
Setting
up the school was far from an easy task though. The main challenge was
the funding. Not being a government scheme, there were no convenient grants
to fall back on. The school was almost forced to shut down a year after
its inception. Somehow it survived. Perhaps its name stood it in good
stead, for Habba Khatoon is the formidable peak that dominates the Gurez
panorama. The Border Security Force and the Indian Army pitched in when
the going got rough. 81 Field Regiment, posted there, recently provided
furniture, matting, thermos flasks and also helped construct toilets.
Says Colonel Prem Sagar, the commanding officer of the regiment: "English
instruction gives Gurezi youngsters the boost to compete with their Valley
counterparts. Education is an effective way of combating militancy. And
also of keeping the locals on our side."
The school
survives mainly on the tuition fees paid by its students. Most of the
money goes into paying the salaries of the principal and the five teachers.
The little that remains is used for rent, maintenance and stationery.
It's a precarious existence and even a slight delay by the poorer parents
in paying the fees leads to a minor crisis. But there's no question of
raising fees. Says Dr Mohammed Ramzan Khan, honorary chairman of the School
Committee: "We want to make the school accessible to all, including
mule drivers, porters and the shepherds and goatherds."
Fatima Banno,
25, the principal, who is still studying herself, explains why she sticks
on despite the odds. "When we were little, we didn't have the option
of attending an English-medium school. I like being a part of an effort
to give the children of today the opportunities that we never had."
Two other teachers-Sanaulla Akhoon, 30, and Zaffar Ahmad, 19-smile sheepishly
and admit that they might have to find government jobs eventually, but
they love being at the school and want to stay on for as long as possible.
The children feel as much a part of this endearing circle as the elders.
Mobina Mir, a Class IV student who walks 4 km to school, can't wait for
the two-month winter break to be over so she can get back to school. And
for Munina Sarvar in Class V, Habba Khatoon is simply the best school
in Gurez.
The School
Committee has applied to the State Education Department for recognition
of the school. Until then, it's cracked walls, rationed stationery and,
more importantly, dollops of sunny optimism in order to keep the only
English-medium primary school in Gurez going.
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2001, celebrate the future in 