CHANDIGARH — A government primary school in the village of Ghasera, Jind district, is functioning without a dedicated classroom or ceiling fans, according to a report published on 6 October 2026. The school, which serves about 120 students from grades one to five, conducts lessons on a makeshift platform under a thatched shelter while teachers and pupils endure high temperatures during the summer months.
Infrastructure gaps persist despite budget allocations
The Hindu’s field report described the school’s main teaching area as a concrete slab surrounded by a low fence, with no walls to protect students from dust or rain. Portable fans, which are common in many rural schools, are also absent, forcing children to sit on the floor while the sun beats down on the open space.
District Education Officer (DEO) Anil Kumar told the publication that the school was slated for renovation under the state’s 2025‑26 Rural Education Enhancement Scheme, but that funds had not yet been released. He said the scheme earmarks ₹12.5 crore for 1,200 schools across Haryana, with allocations based on a needs‑assessment matrix that includes student enrollment, building condition and geographic remoteness.
“The school’s infrastructure rating placed it in the ‘critical’ category, which should prioritize it for immediate work,” the DEO’s statement noted. “However, procedural delays in fund disbursement have stalled the commencement of construction.”
NGO intervention offers a glimpse of improvement
In a separate development, a non‑governmental organization inaugurated a two‑unit classroom block with attached sanitation facilities at the Ogome Anglican Basic School in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district, 3News reported on 5 October 2026. The new block, built at a cost of ₹1.8 crore, includes two classrooms, a teachers’ room and separate toilets for boys and girls.
NGO director Sunita Mehta said the project was funded through a combination of private donations and a grant from the Ministry of Education’s Rural School Infrastructure Programme. “Our aim is to provide safe, ventilated learning spaces that meet basic health standards,” she said in the release.
While the Ogome school’s upgrade demonstrates the potential impact of targeted interventions, officials acknowledge that many schools like Ghasera remain in a backlog of pending projects.
Impact on learning outcomes
Education experts warn that the lack of a proper classroom and ventilation can adversely affect student attendance and performance. A 2024 MoE study found that schools without adequate infrastructure recorded a 15 percent lower attendance rate during the summer months compared with schools that had functional classrooms and fans.
Principal Ramesh Singh, who has been heading the Ghasera school for six years, said the conditions have forced teachers to split the day into two short sessions to avoid heat exhaustion. “We try to keep the children engaged, but the environment is not conducive to learning,” he explained.
Parents in the village have voiced concerns at the district education office, requesting urgent remedial action. One mother, Suman Devi, said her son often skips school during the hottest weeks because “the heat makes it impossible to sit still.”
Government response and next steps
State Education Minister Manish Bansal, in a press briefing on 4 October 2026, affirmed that the government is reviewing the status of pending infrastructure projects. He indicated that an additional ₹3 crore would be allocated to accelerate work in the most underserved schools, including those in Jind district.
The minister’s office released a circular stating that the state’s Public Works Department would be tasked with completing the construction of classrooms and installing fans within the next six months, subject to the release of earmarked funds.
Meanwhile, the district administration has instructed the DEO to submit a detailed progress report on all pending school projects by 15 October 2026. The report will be reviewed by the state’s Education Infrastructure Committee, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Haryana School Management Association and civil‑society groups.
Broader context
Haryana’s rural education infrastructure has been a focus of policy reforms since the 2022 Rural Schools Revitalisation Act, which mandated a minimum standard of classroom space, ventilation and sanitation for all government schools. Despite these mandates, the state’s audit report for 2025‑26 highlighted that 27 percent of rural schools still lacked basic classroom facilities.
Analysts suggest that the gap between policy and implementation stems from a combination of bureaucratic bottlenecks, delayed fund transfers and limited monitoring mechanisms. “Effective oversight and timely disbursement are essential to translate budgetary allocations into tangible improvements on the ground,” said education policy researcher Dr. Arvind Patel of the Indian Institute of Public Administration.