Gonda, Uttar Pradesh:
Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal may have recommended several sweeping changes to streamline the country's education system, but the Gandhi Primary Government School in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district is in urgent need of attention.
It has nearly 200 students all below the age of 10 sandwiched between railway tracks, who have to cross the railway tracks, sometimes even under a train bogey, to reach the school, which is quite a risky affair.
"When we come to school, we have to cross railway tracks. At the time of school prayer, or at the time of attending classes, we are scared of the train entering our classroom," said Tabrej, a student.
"We are afraid even at the time of playing that we could come under the train," said another student Vandana.
The school stands on railway land, but is run by the state government. And that perhaps makes it easier to pass the buck. The principal, Avdesh Kumar Batham, says he has tried several times, but failed.
"We have written many times to the Railway department, but what can I do if they have not responded," he said.
"We will request the Railways to either shift the school to some other building or build a boundary wall so that our children are safe," said Dr Rajesh Arya, District Inspector of Schools, Gonda.
And caught between such explanations are the hapless children who continue to risk their lives every single day to study.