Ajay Sharma
Rajouri, August 24:
Despite playing with the career of meritorious students by allegedly depriving them of crucial scholarship examination,Sunder bani there is literally no one to take responsibility in the education department of Lower Hathal, in Tehsil Sunderbani.
The Northlines in its previous report highlighted how the alleged failure of the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) and the Headmaster of High Schools in Lower Hathal to submit application forms has barred deserving 8th-grade students from participating in a scholarship exam held in June.
According to reports, the scholarship examination, designed to support top-performing students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, was conducted at a designated center in Rajouri.
However, students from Lower Hathal were unable to appear for the exam due to the ZEO’s alleged failure to forward their application forms to the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Rajouri.
This oversight has robbed students, many of whom scored above 60% in their 8th-grade exams, of a vital opportunity to secure financial aid for their academic futures.
The CEO of Rajouri, aware of the lapse, reportedly requested a report from the ZEO of Lower Hathal to explain the negligence. Shockingly, even after weeks, the ZEO has failed to submit the report, displaying a blatant disregard for accountability. Sources indicated that the CEO reached out multiple times, but the ZEO remained unresponsive, further fueling public frustration.
“If students are denied their right to appear for scholarship exams due to such negligence, what is the role of the ZEO?” questioned sources.
The incident has raised serious concerns about the competence of education officials, with the parents pointing fingers at both the ZEO of Lower Hathal and the Headmaster for their inaction.
Many believed that the negligence stems from a lack of personal stakes, as the affected students primarily come from poor families studying in government schools.
“If these were the children of senior IAS or KAS officers, action would have been taken immediately,” said parents. “But because these are the children of the poor, their voices are being suppressed.”
They are now demanding swift action from higher authorities, including the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Rajouri, and the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
Sources argued that the CEO of Rajouri, despite being aware of the issue, has failed to take decisive action, merely passing the buck by filing complaints against the ZEO, who in turn deflected responsibility to the Headmaster.
They suggested that the CEO attempted to contact the Director of Education many times, but the calls remained unanswered.
