Schools in Poonch, the worst-hit in military confrontation, reopen to only 16% attendance
All 1,391 schools with around 95,000 students, including high and higher secondary schools, reopened after a gap of 13 days in Poonch, which saw over 14 civilian deaths and injuries to dozens in the recent Pakistan shelling. 'Attendance was on the lower side. Many families which migrated may not have returned to their homes yet. In remote areas, students would not be knowing about reopening of schools. We just recorded 10 to 16% attendance of students on day one,' Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Chief Education Officer of Poonch, told The Hindu.
At least 14 children were hit by Pakistani shelling and firing in Poonch after India carried out attacks inside Pakistan on May 7 in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which left 26 civilians dead. Four children under the age of 15 died in the shelling, who included a brother-sister duo, Ayan and Zoya (12). Maryam Khatoon (7) from Poonch's Qazi Mohra area was one of the youngest to get killed in the military conflict. The students and staff at the Christ School, Poonch, observed a two-minute silence to mourn the tragic deaths of Ayan and Zoya.
Many schools could not be fully functional because of the damages inflicted by the shelling. 'Two schools were completely destroyed in the shelling in Poonch's Mankote tehsil,' Mr. Shah said.
WhatsApp groups
To dissipate fear among students, principals and school heads appealed to students not to pay heed to social media rumours. Several school WhatsApp groups have been activated to motivate students to rejoin schools. 'We have already started online classes for Class 11-12. We will reach out to students to ensure they attend the classes now,' Mr. Shah added.
Many students of the high school in Khari Karmara, Poonch, made video appeals, urging students to rejoin the classes. 'It has been around two weeks since we could not attend the classes. We have not met our classmates since then. We appeal to our classmates to rejoin classes now,' a high school student said in a video message.
However, many parents said they decided against sending their wards to school because they still feel insecure and saw the current ceasefire between the two countries as 'fragile'. 'Our children are safe only when there is a permanent ceasefire agreement. Every time there is a loud bang, we rush to hide ourselves,' said Zahoor Malik, a parent, who shifted to winter capital Jammu after Poonch was rained by Pakistan shelling.
The administration decided to reopen classes a day after the Indian Army clarified that there was no expiry date to the ceasefire agreement. Besides Poonch, schools in border areas of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Udhampur also reopened, marking a significant step towards restoring normalcy in the region after days of tension along the Pakistan border, officials said.
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