Over 200 students share 5 classrooms in Himachal Pradesh, study under tin-sheds
In Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur, students are struggling with classrooms that cannot accommodate them and schools that have no teachers. A ground report from Paonta Sahib and Assembly claims reveal how gaps in basic infrastructure are affecting children's education.
For students in parts of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, going to school does not always mean sitting inside a proper classroom or even having a teacher to teach them.
A ground report from the Paonta Sahib area found students from Classes 6 to 10 studying under a tin shed, where weather conditions can disrupt lessons. The school has around 100 senior students, while its total enrolment from pre-nursery to Class 10 is around 200–250.
The headmaster of Beheraywala High School, Vikram Singh, told India Today that the school had already written to the government seeking more accommodation.
“During the rainy season, the children have to sit on the ground. All the classes are disturbed. Even the primary school students are disturbed,” Singh said.
ONE SCHOOL, TOO MANY CLASSES
According to Singh, the school has only a handful of usable rooms for students across multiple levels.
He said the government had sought detailed information about the school’s accommodation, following which the administration sent the requested details in July.
“We have sent the information as requested by the government in July,” Singh said, adding that the school had not received a response yet.
The shortage of space means students across different classes have to adjust within the existing infrastructure, making regular classroom teaching difficult.
12 SCHOOLS, ZERO TEACHERS
The infrastructure shortage is not the only concern in Sirmaur.
Reena Kashyap, MLA from the Pachhad Assembly constituency, recently raised the issue in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, highlighting schools that have been functioning without teachers.
According to Kashyap, 12 schools in Pachhad have no teachers. These include six schools in the Narag block, five in the Sarahan block and one in the Rajgarh block.
“There are 12 such schools in total where we do not have any teacher,” Kashyap said.
She said the number of students in these schools is around 40–50 and warned that their future is at risk when there is no teacher available.
THE GAP BETWEEN SCHOOL AND LEARNING
Kashyap also pointed to vacancies for principals in several schools and said the government had assured that these posts would be filled soon.
For students, however, the problem is immediate. A classroom under a tin roof offers little protection from rain or heat, while a school without teachers cannot provide regular learning.
In Sirmaur, these gaps are becoming more than infrastructure concerns. They are directly shaping how—and whether—children are able to learn.
(With inputs from Dinesh Kannojia)