A School that Could Shine

The Delwara Government Secondary School stands as a beacon of hope for the aspiring students of Delwara, Rajasthan as well as many neighbouring towns. It is one of the biggest and oldest schools in the area. "Around seven years ago I was a student at this school, it was a good school then. For the past four years, it looks like it is falling apart. I made this video because I felt acknowledging the decay is a good start to finding a solution to it", says Community Correspondent Shambhulal Khatik. There are 148 students who attend the classes here, their problems begin almost as soon as they are about to enter the school premises. Of the two main access points, the one that leads up from the village gets clogged with water each monsoon. The gate and the playground are flooded in ankle deep water. So, the children, who either walk or ride cycles, brave the traffic on the highway to reach school. Shambhu says that it is an accident waiting to happen. He says: "My video was going to focus on this issue but when I went into the school to get interviews of the students, they revealed even more problems." For some time now, there have been about ten vacant positions for teachers in the school. This means that students have no classes for many subjects including History, Commerce and Geography. "New subjects like Urdu have been introduced but there are no teachers yet" says Harkaji, an English teacher. The entire school infrastructure is in shambles-- rooms that are unused; filthy toilets; no clean drinking water for students. "The water sometimes has worms in it...The school office gets water from a hand pump but the students have to drink the water from a tank that hasn't been cleaned in the last 4 years!" says Saurabh Yadav, a 12th grade student. According to the 2011 Census Rajasthan's literacy rate stands at 66.11%, a figure that is on the lower end of the literacy spectrum in India. The good news is that the number is steadily increasing. Imagine now, a situation where schools like the Delwara Secondary School operated at their fullest potential. Full classes, more room for students, a well rounded education curriculum. Every day you see problems to which there is no apparent solution. Today, you can spare a minute and make a phone call that would give thousands of kids an education. Do it! Please call Mr Shankar Lal Sanadhya, the District Education Officer on 09462021423 and ask him to make sure the school has all its facilities in place.
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