Classes In Cowshed, Little Girl Sweeping: Other Side Of Schooling In Rajasthan

It is 6.45 in the morning. Two children sling their satchels over their shoulders and go into the cowshed. There, under a tree, they sweep the earthen courtyard. They spread a mat. They set a table. They arrange chairs. Two little girls arrive. One starts sweeping with broom. The other, with a friend's help, removes a black board. 

This cowshed is their school. 

Their dedicated school building has become dilapidated. After High Court orders, classes couldn't be held there, so that's the alternative arrangement their teachers made last year. Together they clean and arrange this place, turning it into a school.

Soon their teacher will arrive. Before she comes, the children finish setting everything up. When a stray dog wanders into the school, a small girl grabs a stick and runs to chase it away. She closes the gate. 

The mid-day meal van is on time. The children run. Khichdi, kadhi, rotis and bananas are handed out from the van. There is no school staff here, so the children and the person distributing the food themselves manage the arrangements. 

After a short while the teacher arrives. The class begins. The children recite tables, the distant bellowing of cows punctuating the lesson.

Last year, in Pipalodi, Jhalawar, the roof of a school collapsed and seven children died. After that the High Court took suo motu cognizance of the condition of school buildings across the state and ordered that classes should not be held in dilapidated structures.

The main building of this school is also unsafe. That is why the children are being taught in this cowshed.

Recently the Rajasthan education department issued an order banning outsiders from entering schools and taking photos and videos. 

A year ago when NDTV came here, these children were studying under the same tree. 

Time has moved, but the scenario has not changed - only restrictions have been placed to stop showing this reality. 

Asked why the school building has not been repaired or rebuilt even after a year, the teacher's only response was to forbid photos or videos. 

Because the makeshift school is operating from a cowshed, there's no drinking water, no toilets. The toilets built near the old school are locked. Now the children and their teacher are forced to rely on people in the village. This causes the trouble especially for the girls and the woman teacher. 

The cowshed belongs to a villager named Lalchand and his family. 

Lalchand told NDTV that after the school was shut, he allowed the classes to held here after the teacher requested him. They did not charge take any rent. But now a year has passed. The cows must be tied elsewhere, fodder must be stored. Renting out the space out has become a necessity. "I may have to ask them to vacate," he said.

According to a survey by the education department, the state has 63,018 schools. Of these, 5,667 buildings are dilapidated -- 1,579 have been formally declared unsafe. 

There are 86,934 classrooms in dilapidated condition. Meanwhile, 17,109 toilets are completely dilapidated and 29,093 need repair. The highest number of dilapidated buildings was found in Banswara at 605, followed by Udaipur with 563. State capital Jaipur had 185 unsafe buildings.

The state government has submitted a five-year plan in the High Court to repair these buildings. 

It says the state intends to spend Rs 12,335 crore over the next five years. New buildings for 3,587 dilapidated schools will be built at a cost of Rs 2,487 crore. Repairs to 22,589 buildings will cost Rs 1,129 crore; 83,783 dilapidated classrooms will be replaced with new rooms at a cost of Rs 8,378 crore.

The plan also allocates Rs 340 crore for the construction and repair of 13,616 dilapidated toilets. 

Raising funds for this entire plan is the biggest challenge. Before that issue could be taken up, directives were issued to ensure proper arrangements for the children.

On August 12, the roof of a school roof collapsed at Jodhwas in Thanagazi, Alwar district. 

After that, Ashutosh Ranka and his team from the Cockroach Janata Party visited. The team highlighted problems such as stagnant dirty water. They alleged that some people prevented them from entering the school to show them the reality. After that, the education department's order restricting outsiders and banning photos and videos was issued; Ranka called it a device to hide the truth.

The Congress has repeatedly accused the government of trying to hide the condition of schools instead of improving them. Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully warned that he and his MLAs will visit all schools and expose the truth; they will not allow this law to stand. 

Congress leader Sachin Pilot also said the government is preventing people from visiting schools and taking photographs - an order issued to hide the reality. 

"All we want is for the government to heed the High Court's directive, to repair schools, to take children's safety and the education system seriously. Schools remain in disrepair; roofs collapse during the monsoon, and children suffer. Now the government wants you not to go there - not journalists, not anyone to take pictures. It is as if the government is prepared to cross every limit to hide faults. The people are watching. The government must be held accountable," he said.

The education minister appeared evasive.  When NDTV asked Madan Dilawar about the order, he said every department has its own rules. Asked about the order's provisions and whether the department has clear guidelines, the minister avoided giving a straight answer.