RTE norms say a primary school should be within 1km of students ’ residence but AMC has shifted it 5km away.
While the Right to Education Act, 2009, seeks to provide free and compulsory education in the age group of 6-14 years in an appropriate classroom in the vicinity of the student's neighbourhood, here is an instance in the city where 500 children have been forced to quit their primary education as their school is too far.
The indifferent attitude of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has been blamed for this. According to Dani Limda corporator Inaayat Husain Saiyad, the school board of AMC is showing no interest in building a proper school in Shah Alam's Rasulabad area. He even raised the issue in the general board meeting of AMC and asked the concerned authority to look into the matter.
"We have suggested a location near Pragati Nagar quarters, adjoining the Kankaria Urdu Primary School no 2/5. However, Saiyad claimed that even after assurance by top officials, there has been no attempt to build a school on the open plot since last one year.
According to Saiyad, almost 1,100 children studying in Kankaria Urdu Primary School no 2/5 have been shifted to Kankaria Urdu Primary School no 3/4 due to the renovation work in the former from October 2010 to February 2011. But the new school is very far for students living in Chandola, Shah Alam and Danilimda areas.
"Parents are not ready to send their little children studying in class I to V to a school which is almost four km away," said Saiyad. He claimed that 500 students have dropped out of the school.
This fact was reiterated by Shahezadkhan Pathan, another corporator of Danilimda area. It must be noted here that as per the RTE Act, for classes I to V there should be a school in one km radius from a child's home while for classes V to VII the radius is 2km. The whole matter dates back to October 28, 2010, when a social activist of that area Dr Habib Pathan filed a writ petition in high court to improve the condition of Kankaria Urdu Primary School no 2/5.
The school board filed an affidavit and gave an assurance that the school will be renovated before February 28, 2011. For this time period, children studying in class I to VII were shifted to a new school in Maninagar called Kankaria Primary School no 3/4. "All administrative work has now shifted to the new school. Parents seeking admission for their wards have to go there. Only some batches of class I, V and VII are studying in the renovated school," claimed Dr Habib.
According to Saiyad, both the schools are inappropriate and inconvenient for the children as even after the renovation, the old school is too cramped to accommodate 1,100 students, and the new school is too far for most of the children.
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