SSA Primary School in Mando Village Lies Closed for Seven Years; Students Risk Lives to Reach Other Schools in LoC Area

Rabia Ahad

Kupwara // In the far-flung and marginalized border communities of north Kashmir, education continues to be one of the greatest challenges. Despite years of development programs and technological progress, children in these hilly areas remain deprived of even basic educational facilities. Poor connectivity, lack of infrastructure, and administrative neglect have turned education into a daily struggle for many families living along the Line of Control (LoC).

One such example is the remote mountainous Mando village in Keran Tehsil, located about 150 kilometers from Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar, where a Government SSA Primary School has remained closed for the past seven years due to the non-availability of teachers. Students from the village are now forced to walk through dense forests and cross a stream, risking their lives, to reach the nearest schools — Government Middle School (GMS) Keran and High School Mundian.

The school was established around 20 years ago to provide basic education to local children. Its establishment had initially brought joy to the residents, who eagerly enrolled their children.

However, in 2019, the school was shut down after the two SSA teachers posted there resigned from their posts following their selection as General Line Teachers. According to Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Kralpora, Ali Mohammad Lone, “Both teachers had applied for the General Line Teacher category, got selected, and resigned from their SSA positions. As a result, the school remained closed due to lack of staff. In the same year, there was a decline in student enrollment, and as per norms, the department did not have the mandate to reopen the school at that time.”

He further added, “The village still has a good number of school-going children, and we will take up the matter with higher authorities. The school will hopefully be reopened soon.”

Keran, situated along the Line of Control (LoC) in the north of Kashmir, is designated as an Aspirational Block under NITI Aayog. The region has no private school entities, and students solely depend on government-run educational institutions for their learning.

Local residents and parents have urged the Education Department to expedite the reopening of the Mando SSA Primary School so that their children can study safely within the village instead of risking their lives daily to access education elsewhere.