Jammu and Kashmir Education Challenges

Seerat Naaz, a third-grader, along with her younger sister Falak, embarks on a challenging daily 4 km trek through hilly terrain and across numerous nullahs to reach Government High School in Lohai, a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. Determined to overcome these obstacles, Seerat has initiated a public appeal, urging individuals to contribute at least 1 rupee each. Her goal is to raise funds so that she and other children in this remote region can access a “good government school.”

In a heartfelt video shared on social media, Seerat expressed her determination to improve her school’s condition, saying, “The condition of my school building is the same as it had been for years. I have no expectations from anyone, and now I will, with your help, get this building completed.”

Seerat kickstarted the campaign by donating Rs 2,000, which she received as an award for her motivational speech, dance performance, and painting a freedom fighter at her school’s Independence Day event in August. Since then, she has garnered Rs 7,500 in donations, with the largest contribution of Rs 1,000 coming from an anonymous donor in Hyderabad.

The Government High School in Lohai, with approximately 350 students, currently consists of two buildings: an old one with three rooms and a verandah, and an incomplete two-story building with nearly a dozen rooms in a dilapidated state. The latter was initiated by the J&K Public Works Department in 2014 but was left unfinished by the contractor in 2016 due to alleged payment issues.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Indian Express