To think that there are many schools in our State that do not have electricity is to talk about primitive times. It is beyond imagination that a school would be without electric power in this age of technology. But we should not be surprised to know that even today we have many schools without electricity. The Ministry of Human Resource Development had fixed a target of electrification of 835 schools for the concerned authorities of Jammu and Kashmir under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan, a scheme of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. Against this, 555 have been electrified till date and 280 are still clamoring for facility of electricity. These 280 schools are situated in both rural and urban areas of the State.
The usual pretext with the State functionaries vis-à-vis queries from the Central Government is that this is a hilly State with physical conditions much different from what we have in other States. Yes physical conditions do vary but that is not a tenable argument because in Himachal and Uttarakhand, both being hilly states, electrification of rural schools has been completed to a large extent. In our State, not to speak of rural and far-flung areas, even many schools in towns and concentrated localities are not as yet electrified.
We are talking of digitalization and advanced information technology affairs. Computer is among the essential requirements in schools and other educational institutions. Modern student cannot imagine life without computer and connectivity. Electricity is the first requirement for computerization of schools. But supply of electric power cannot be an isolated matter. Unless the village or the area and locality where a school is situated are electrified, the school cannot be provided with electricity. Therefore when we are talking about electrification of remaining 280 schools we need to take into account whether the Power Development Department has brought power to these villages or not. The two are closely interlinked. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has painted very dismal picture of electrification of schools in the State. We are nowhere close to either Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand. There are no schools without electricity in the neighbouring State of Punjab.
Absence of electric power in a large number of schools in the State means that a vast number of students in our State will remain aliens to computer and information technologies. In present-day India, there is no scope for uneducated persons and especially those who are not having modern skills in which computer technology is of primary importance. This issue has to be understood in broader perspective. Nobody knows how much of talent we shall be losing by not providing modern means and skill to our students at their young age.
We are of the opinion that the School Education and Power Development Departments should devise a joint strategy of removing this deficiency. Planning has to be done in a way that most of the villages and localities in which un-electrified schools fall are provided electricity on priority basis. This is possible if there is will and concerted effort. In fact the panchayats of these villages should also be taken on board when supply of electric power is discussed at right quarters. The alternative to this would be that the Government provides generators to these schools so that they can run computer classes without any obstacle. This will reduce the responsibility and burden on the shoulders of PDD till such time as would be earmarked for the electrification of the identified villages and schools. It will be only makeshift arrangement.
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