PHAGWARA: Despite Shahkot being granted subdivision status over 37 years ago, the town still does not have a single senior secondary school—a glaring omission that continues to deprive thousands of students of accessible higher secondary education.
Now, to add to the long-standing neglect, Shahkot’s only Government High School—upgraded from a middle school several years ago—is facing the grim possibility of being downgraded back to the middle level in the upcoming academic session.
This potential reversal threatens to deepen the education crisis in the town, where more than 60 percent of the population relies on government-run schools.
Speaking to this correspondent, Dhanpat Rai, former principal of Government High School, Shahkot, said the school has long struggled with inadequate staffing due to a lack of government support. Although officially recognized as a high school, it has consistently lacked sanctioned posts for high school-level teachers.
“For five years, the Parent-Teacher Association and the Town Education Development Committee pooled their own resources to pay the salaries of high school teachers, ” Rai explained. “But in 2010, they reached a breaking point and could no longer continue funding staff from their own pockets.”
A survey conducted under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) had recommended the school’s upgradation to senior secondary level. However, despite the findings and repeated follow-ups, the proposal has remained stuck in bureaucratic limbo.
Residents of Shahkot say they have been consistently raising the demand for a senior secondary school during multiple election cycles—including the 2007, 2014, and 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, as well as the 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Yet, successive governments have failed to deliver on the promise.
“There are 16 senior secondary schools in nearby villages, but none in Shahkot town itself, ” said Gurjit Singh, a local education activist. “Our children either drop out after high school or are forced to travel long distances, which is not feasible for many.”
A proposal for upgradation was submitted years ago to the Jalandhar District Education Officer (Secondary), but no action has been taken so far. A dealing clerk in the DEO’s office confirmed that following a recent policy update from the state government regarding school upgradations, the department was asked to resubmit fresh proposals.
“We have included Shahkot’s school in our reports, but as of now, we have received no information or approval regarding any upgradation, ” the official said on condition of anonymity.
As other subdivisions across Punjab witness improvements in educational infrastructure, Shahkot continues to lag far behind—not due to lack of need, but because of continued administrative indifference.
With the town’s only high school now in danger of being downgraded back to a middle school, residents fear the worst: a generation of students left behind, with limited access to the education they deserve.