Srinagar: The hapless students have become the worst victim of the tussle between Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) and JK Board of School Education (BOSE) over reimbursement of funds to setup heating facilities in exam centres during annual examination for class 10th and 12th.

From the past one year, the DSEK and BOSE are at logger heads over release of funds to schools which are designated as exam centres during class 10th and 12th exams which has ultimately left the students at the receiving end.

“Last year, DSEK had instructed school principals to set up heating arrangement in all exam centres and BOSE had agreed to reimburse funds to the concerned school principals. But the money was never paid to the schools,” an official of DSEK said.

Notably, every year students appearing in class 10th and 12th exams complain of poor heating arrangements in the exam centres while the DSEK and BOSE pass the buck blaming each other.

 Every time DSEK authorities say that concerned school principals have been instructed to setup proper heating arrangement for students but the instructions remain confined to papers only.

“The school principals don’t get the money after exams and that is why they don’t pay heed to the instructions and assurances to release funds after exams prove futile,” an official at the DSEK said.

 Also, the students bear the brunt of poor coordination between the BOSE and DSEK over release of funds.

“While the students appear in the exams, the school principals and BOSE officials remain at logger heads. School Principals demand prior release of funds while as BOSE remains adamant to release the funds after examination. With the result students are subjected to unnecessary inconveniences,” an official said.

 Importantly, this newspaper earlier reported that inspection teams constituted by the directorate in their report had stated that most of the examination centres had no heating arrangement for students while as some were without proper seating arrangement as well.

“Our exams culminated yesterday but it is a fact that we had no heating facility available in our exam centres. We were shivering due to intense cold inside exam halls,” said Sumaya, a class 10th student of Baramulla.

Another class 12th student from Srinagar also narrated the same view blaming authorities for not ensuring proper heating arrangement in the exam centres.

“The education minister and other authorities in school education department made tall claims of ensuring proper heating arrangement in the exam halls but the directions were not implemented on ground,” said Aliya Manzoor.

 Amid the growing complaints of poor arrangements in exam centres, the DSEK on its official Facebook page also expressed serious concern over the issue.

 “It is a matter of serious concern that there are numerous complaints of insufficient heating and lighting arrangements in examination centres,” DSEK posted on its page on social networking site Facebook.

 The post read that all chief education officers and heads of schools, where centres have been designated, have been told to make arrangements for which reimbursement will be made by BOSE.

 “All CEOs, Principals, headmasters are put under strict instructions to make necessary heating and seating arrangement in all exam centres without fail,” it reads.

 Meanwhile, Director, DSEK G N Itoo admitted that school principals didn’t make heating arrangement this year in schools as BOSE did not reimburse funds to them which these Principals had utilized last year for ensuring heating arrangements.

 “This year school heads demanded advance release of the funds but BOSE was not ready to do that which caused inconvenience for the students,” Itoo said.

Guest