Schools’ rent liability increases as Govt fails to release funds

By Rabiya Bashir

Srinagar, Mar 25: For the last few years, the government has failed to pay the rent of schools operating from temporary accommodations in Kashmir.

Director School Education Kashmir, GN Itoo told The Kashmir Monitor said that the finance department has not released the funds for the same.

“The first quarter of 2018-2019 Budget has been released and whatever money they have allotted for it, we will immediately release it,” Itoo said.

He said that the department will try to release the funds in the first week of April.

Asked about the rent liability which has been piling up for past few years against the schools setup under state plan as well as under centrally sponsored scheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, across Kashmir, Itoo said, “It’s not same everywhere, at some places, it is from two years while at others we have already released it, we are working on it.”

Owing to the failure of the department to release the rent, the owners of the buildings have now threatened to seize the infrastructure of schools. “The owners have not been paid for years and now they have started seizing school lockers and other items as well,” an official of the department said wishing not to be named.

“The irony is that department in 2015 clubbed over 1500 rented schools in rationalization process but the owners are yet to receive the rent of previous years,” he said.

Around 2406 school buildings- 1834 rented and 920 government owned buildings were spared post rationalization of schools in 2015. In Srinagar district, 326 out of 518 schools are functioning from rented accommodations.

The buildings hired to accommodate schools are setup under state plan is fixed by the rent assessment committee headed by the concerned Deputy Commissioner (DC) as its Chairman, Chief Education Officer (CEO) and Assistant Executive Engineer of PWD department as its members.

“The rent is fixed on basis of the accommodation available in the building. But the funds have not been released,” the official said.

Officials said the MHRD earlier used to release Rs 200 per month for each SSA school functioning from rented accommodation. However, the funds were stopped after government failed to construct government buildings for these schools.

Secretary School Education Department, Farooq Ahmad Shah said that those who have not received their rent from education department for buildings for rented schools should approach the concerned Chief Education Officers. “These funds are already in the budget. In fact we have asked our director to release the rent for the schools operating from rented accommodations,” he said.