Kupwara: The free winter tutorials have not started in the Keran sector of this north Kashmir’s frontier district despite the DSEK’s directive to government schools across valley.
Scores of families rued the failure of the education department to ensure the winter coaching in the frontier village.
They said the teachers have left the area before the winter vacations were announced “leaving our children at the mercy of situation”.
“Our children are the worst sufferers as they have nothing to do this winter. They are sitting idle,” the parents told INS.
Keran sector is 72 kilometers away from main town Kupwara and the area remains cut off from the district during winters due to heavy snowfall.
“We can’t put in words the happiness we had when government announced free winter tuition across the valley, but that happiness has turned into a grief now,” the people said.
“We had never imagined that after being denied the basic life amenities, we will be neglected on educational front as well. We always cherished the dream of imparting the best possible education to our children but when the very teachers leave students at the mercy of situation, we are left with no words to describe our disappointment,” the parents lamented. “This is the biggest loss for us.”
An official of the educational department wishing anonymity told INS that “none of the teachers from the Keran sector was willing to teach in winters despite repeatedly informed by authorities regarding the winter tutorials”.
“Most of the teachers are in cities; some are outside the state,” he said.
The people of the village have urged the higher authorities to take serious note of the issue.
When contacted, CEO Kupwara Shafiq Nabi War denied that teachers were unwilling to teach in winter.
“There is nothing like that the teachers were unwilling to teach. The official record I have received denoted that students were not available, so we had to wind up the centres,” War told INS.