JORABAT, Dec 9 - For Bhakta Prasad Gautam, the founder principal of Adarsh Rashtra Bhasha ME School at 11th Mile near Jorabat, getting his institution provincialised was his dream. But the reality of life is that some dreams don�t come true no matter how hard one worked for it.
Gautam, who ran from pillar to post and fulfil all the requirements needed for provincialisation of a school, bid adieu to his long teaching career on Thursday last (December 7) with tearful eyes. Despite a stupendous effort put up by him to get his school provincialised, Gautam�s dream has not fulfilled during his tenure as the principal of the school.
The Hindi medium Adarsh Rashtra Bhasha ME School was established in 1982 and started functioning in 1983 for the economically backward students of this area.
The school was recognised in 1991 by the government. Though the then Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia promised in a public meeting in 1996 that the school would be provincialised, the promise never turned into a reality.
This venture school with 5 teachers and 73 students even runs mid-day meal programme and receives textbooks from the government for its students, but it has not yet been provincialised despite 35 years of its existence.
Gautam said running a school without any grant by government is a very difficult job as the authorities of Adarsh Rashtra Bhasha ME School don�t accept school fees, as per government directives.
He said the school has been without electricity since its establishment. Non-availability of electricity forces the students to read their textbooks in dimly-lit classrooms. The teachers employed in the school have been providing their services with a hope of getting the institution provincialised in the near future, he added.
�I wish the government will soon provincialise the school and the teachers� posts so that the teachers don�t face the challenges which I had been facing for long,� he added.
According to him, the school occasionally received maintenance grant of Rs 9,000 annually and salary of Rs 4,000 per month for the teachers for a short span during 2011-13.
Tulsi Sharma, an ex-student of this school and a teacher cum owner of a computer institute in Jorabat, said it is really a very sad moment for all the people here that even after serving for about 35 years, Bhakta Prasad Gautam retired from his service empty-handed. �The State government should look into the issue and make some financial arrangement for this kind-hearted teacher,� Sharma added.
