The students take a walk along Dimna lake. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur June 1: At 43 degrees Celsius, a day’s outing to the Dimna lake could be the last thing one would venture for, but they were hapless.

For the 50-odd girls of a bridge school in Khunti, this was hardly a pleasure trip, let alone a picnic. But this morning was different, as they were brought to the lakeside after a three-hour journey as part of their regular itinerary.

Bridge school is a concept floated by the Jharkhand Education Project under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan wherein school dropouts or children who have never been enrolled in any school are identified and are sent to a nine-month residential school.

Besides from the regular classes, the students are also given several vocational training, which can help them sustain in long run. “This is part of our schedule wherein students should be taken out for an outdoor trip at least twice in this nine-month period. This trip too is part of the same schedule and the school curriculum,” said Albina Rahut, one of the teachers accompanying the group of students.

But why choose such a hot weather for a trip like this? “We have to submit a report to the government almost every three months, so we are helpless and had to take out the students before the term ends in June,” said another teacher who himself had a wet towel over his head.

The students too looked completely tired of the sun and were desperately looking for a shelter atop the bridge. “We left Khunti at 4 in the morning to avoid the heat, but out here it’s unbearable. Now we just want to run away from the place,” said one of the students.

“It will take us at least three hours to reach our school and the journey too was a big ordeal,” said another girl.

As for food and water, students had to go almost without them till noon. “We just had some light snacks since morning,” said another student. It was only around 12.30 pm that they actually began preparations for the lunch.

Sunil Kumar Burnwal, the director of Jharkhand Education Project, admitted that the decision to take out the students for a trip at this time of the year was indeed wrong. “One must blame it on the faulty decision by the school authorities to take out children in such a bad weather and we would surely take steps in the future if any other such cases crop up,” he said.

He added: “The monthly report is mandatory to monitor the matters, but that does not mean schools can do whatever they like. Moreover, adequate security and arrangements should have been made before organising such a trip.”