Abhinanda Home, a school located in Srinagar, that provides education to children with hearing, speech and visual impairments up to class 12 is struggling for survival.
While the building of the centre in in the dilapidated condition, teachers in the school have not been paid salaries for the past five years.
Although the center, established in the year 1942, was taken over by the government from the trust in 2018, but the difficulties of the students and the management increased.
While on the one hand teachers have not been provided with salary since the year 2018, students are also not provided any facilities in the school. The building of the center is dilapidated, there are no facilities in the classroom and the number of students is also decreasing.
Yasmeen Kousar, principal of the school, said that, “We have not been paid any salary since 2018. Apart from hearing, speaking and sight-impaired children, other students also studied at the center, when the social welfare department took over the school, we thought it would be better, but the opposite happened.”
“We were ordered not to admit normal children and then gradually the number of students decreased. Admission and tuition fee from the normal children was basic income of the centre,” she said.
A student of the same school said, “Teachers work hard on us, but there are no facilities from the government.”
“There is a bus but it does not run, there is no driver, the building is in a dilapidated condition. After 12th, we can’t continue our education as there is no arrangment,” the students said.
The parents of the children also expressed their concern.
“We admitted our children here with great hope, but there is nothing here. There is no watchman, the children go out of the gate themselves. Our children can’t hear or speak…concern is always there,” they said.
“We thought the situation would improve but you see the conditions on the field, the bus is not running because there is no driver. There are no modern facilities in the classroom either. The administration is not providing any facilities.”
Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Zahoor Ahmad Mir, said that all the facilities will be available before the next academic year.
“All departments will be consulted in this regard, and necessary steps will be taken on priority,” Mir said.
