00:09And starting today we'll be bringing you these ground reports that our reporters bring from
00:15different parts of the country on the condition of our schools. We want to highlight that,
00:19we want to keep it in focus. So let me start with the one today. A school meant to build
00:24a child's
00:25future, but in Sangur, children are still struggling for something far more basic, a safe classroom to
00:32learn in. A school was demolished in Benda, classes crammed into a veranda in Sonam, and a fazika,
00:42in fazika in fact, children still waiting for a building that was promised. India Today's Fix Our
00:48School campaign asks a simple question, if these are schools, why are children still studying like
00:54this? This is a special ground report from Punjab.
01:07A school is supposed to give children a future. But in Sangur, Punjab, children are being denied
01:15the most basic right, a safe place to study. One school is demolished, another holding classes
01:23on the veranda. India Today's Fix Our Schools campaign asks, if these are schools, why are
01:30children still studying like this? This is what remains of the school in Benda village.
01:36Built in 1971, the building was damaged by rain, developed cracks and was declared unsafe.
01:43So it was demolished. But three months later, there is still no new school.
01:48Instead, children are studying in village Dharamshala. Parents say the fans barely work. Space is limited.
02:18So they are living in the middle of the school.
02:22So one of the students look at the school.
02:24We are very difficult for them. We are very difficult for them. We are having a lot of time.
02:30We want to build a school for our children.
02:34We are going to sit in the garden. We are going to put the garden.
02:49Parents protested, staged, sit-ins and even went on hunger strike.
02:54They demand a school for their children.
02:57The administration says 20 lakh rupees has been sanctioned and work will begin soon.
03:02But for these children, it has already taken too long.
03:06For months, the villagers took to streets, they did Dharna Pradashan, a lot of protests.
03:15And that is when this particular structure was demolished.
03:20Meanwhile, the students had nowhere to go, so they have moved to the closer Dharamshala.
03:26But the villagers now say that there has been no effort to reconstruct a school which was here.
03:36And then there is Sunam, a school that is around 80 to 19 years old, according to teachers.
03:43Here, classrooms have become a struggle for space.
03:46Three classes share one veranda.
03:49Have you ever heard of any pressure on your children's children's children?
03:54Yes, ma'am, we have been alerted.
03:56It is unsafe, too.
03:59It is too cold.
04:00It is too cold.
04:02It is too cold.
04:04It is too cold.
04:05It is too cold.
04:06It is too cold.
04:07It is too cold.
04:15It is too cold.
04:45There is no room for a proper blackboard.
04:49And inside another room, 108 children.
04:54No playgrounds, barely enough space to sit.
04:56So many children, mostly belonging to SESD, all cram into one classes.
05:02And let me tell you, they are from pre-primary to about class 5 who study here.
05:08But because there is paucity of space, they are all made to sit together.
05:13And perhaps there is some seating which is outside, but considering the temperatures are
05:21above 40 degrees, so all of them cannot be put under the shed.
05:26And in Fazilka, another promise remains unfinished.
05:30The old school was demolished.
05:32The new building was assured.
05:34Seven months later, children are still learning on the veranda.
06:03The Punjab government, when confronted, says issues will be resolved.
06:10The new buildings on India were also based on the new building.
06:11There were also some people in the old.
06:12There was a lot of buildings on India and the new building.
06:13So, many people were given more than it, which are only built.
06:16But in the old building, they were given the new building to the new buildings on our
06:20government.
06:22And in Punjab, we've spent the most amount of money on education, health.
06:39Look at these children. They are not asking for luxury. Just a safe roof, a proper classroom, a space to
06:46learn.
06:47Their education cannot wait for another promise because today their future is being written in classrooms that are failing them.
06:56With Kamaljeet Sandhu and Surendar Goyal, India Today campaign for change, fix our school.
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