RAJKOT: It has virtually become a vidya mandir or temple school for them. Picture this — 250 kids are seated on the steps of a temple and taking classes. There is a makeshift seat made of woods or a pile of bricks on which teachers sit. There is a temporary blackboard as well.This scene is the reality of Khera village of Rajula taluka in Amreli district where a makeshift school functions on the premises of the village temple. This is no charity by the temple trust but a compulsion caused by the apathy of the state government.Khera village reaffirms the concerns about the poor quality of education in rural Gujarat raised by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2018) in its recent report. Earlier, there existed a school in this village. However, owing to its 60-year-old dilapidated building, the district administration had decided to demolish it six months ago to construct a new one.“However, for some or the other reason, the construction of the new school building has not seen the light of the day as yet. Whenever we inquire with sarpanch or talati, we are assured that construction will start soon,” bemoans Ramesh Chauhan, whose relatives study in this temple school.“Even basic amenities are not available in this school. There are no separate rooms, no playground, no computers or a library ,” adds Chauhan.Meanwhile, district education officer C M Jadhav, when contacted, told TOI, “That we want to build a new school in Khera village is for sure. The proposal to construct a 15-room school has been approved. The work will start when tenders for the project are issued.”

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