KASUR, June 22: The Government Model High School, established in 1878 on four acres, is making a mockery of the ‘revolutionary steps’ taken by the Punjab government for the promotion of education in Punjab, as the district administration and the Education Department have been ignoring basic problems of this historic institution for the last several years. As a result, the number of students is dropping fast.

History shows that Deputy Commissioner WO Clarak laid foundation stone for the school and Lala Devan Chand was its first headmaster. The school produced several parliamentarians, ministers, judges, doctors, engineers and men of high literary calibre during the last 129 years, but at present it presents a bleak picture. The school, which is situated in the heart of the city and has a history of producing excellent results, is in miserable condition because funds meant for it have not been spent on it.

Headmaster Hafiz Ghulam Rasool, who took charge of the school some months ago, said he was shocked to see the condition of this historic institution. He said the school, which accommodated more than 2,000 students from middle and lower classes, was deprived of basic facilities like fans, furniture, water coolers, tube lights and a laboratory. Most students sit on mats. Eight of the 16 toilets are unusable and the drainage system has collapsed. He said that Rs888,711 was ‘spent’ on renovation of the school during his predecessor’s tenure, but the grant did not have any impact because contractors and Education officials ‘embezzled’ its major part. He said that 20 fans, 11 doors and 10 windows were removed during the renovation work.

A senior schoolteacher, who requested anonymity, said that about 30 trees, most of them over 100 years old, were cut from the school ground and sold illegally. Students complained to the authorities concerned about this, but their complain was rejected, he added.

Dangling electricity wires and broken switch boards are a threat to students’ lives. The school mosque has heaps of litter around it. Walls and roofs have cracked. In the absence of electric water coolers, students have to drink hot water in summer from concrete tanks, which have never been cleaned. The school canteen is closed for the last five years. The school needs 40 more teachers in proportion to the number of students. It has computer-trained staff, but no computer lab. As the school has no gatekeeper, students have to skip their classes to do their duty on the main gate.

Senior schoolteacher Maqsood Ahmed said this situation had forced several students to move to costly private schools, which they could not afford otherwise. He said that some disappointed students had permanently left the school and preferred to work at fields or auto workshops.

Another teacher said the school staff was drawing over Rs1 million every month in shape of salaries, but the number of students was dropping continuously due to a lack of facilities at the school.

Yet another teacher said the district coordination officer (DCO) had not released Rs200,000 he announced some time ago for a ground in the school. A delegation of teachers will soon meet the DCO in this regard, he added.