Uttarakhand village school shut for 3 years to reopen with return of migrants

A government primary school in Champawat district, closed for three years due to lack of students, is being reopened by the education department on the request of migrant workers who returned home with their families due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an official said.

“The school, closed due to lack of students three years ago, has been reopened on the request of villagers. Around 16 students have been enrolled there by the parents. We hope the number of students will increase in future,” said Bhanu Pratap Singh, deputy education officer Barakot block, Champawat.

Officials recalled that when the primary school in Barakot about 35 km from Champawat district headquarters was closed, many of the students had shifted to private schools.

The coronavirus pandemic, however, forced people, who had shifted from Gavinada village to cities and towns elsewhere, to return home in April and May. The village head finally wrote to the government to request reopening of the school when it seemed that the villagers wouldn’t be relocating back to the cities soon.

Pushpa Devi, village head of the Gavinada village, said, “Some of our children were forced to go to nearby schools but when the migrants returned to the village along with their families, we requested senior education department officers to reopen the school.”

On this request, Ramesh Purohit, Champawat district education officer said a teacher was transferred from a nearby school to Gavinada. “The school is closed these days due to Covid-19 but will resume as soon as the government approves reopening of schools,” he said.

Basant Vallabh Joshi, who hails from the village, said, “I have enrolled my daughter in the school. The reopening of school is in favour of village children since they will not have to go to the nearby villages for studying.”

“When schools reopen, a team from the district education department will conduct a site survey to assess the situation. Earlier students from this village had been shifted to other nearby schools, but now if there are sufficient numbers, then the school will function as normal. Following the guidelines of the state government, we will also see if this school is closer for students from other nearby villages or not. Students from other schools can also be shifted to Gavinada primary school,” said Purohit.

He added that the decision will be taken after consultation with the school management committee and the villagers so that students do not face any problems.

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