Author:
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: September 18, 2003
In an unique project, 101 militancy-affected
children - children whose parents have been slain by terrorists and also
children of terrorists - will study together in an Army school.
The Army, which has been running
a number of schools in Jammu and Kashmir (under Operation Sadbhavana),
will fund these students' education. In order to provide quality education
in a "tension-free" environment, the children will study in the prestigious
Army Public School, Beas, near Jalandhar.
Maj-Gen. Deepak Summanwar, briefing
the press about the project, said, "We have chosen the Army Public School
in Beas as it has the requisite infrastructure and congenial environment
for young minds to develop. The children will also be accompanied by five
teachers from Jammu and Kashmir who have been employed at the school."
The children, between the age of
11 and 15 years, will be admitted to Class 5, Class 6 and Class 7. These
children, besides being affected by militancy, belong to the most underprivileged
sections of the society and cannot afford proper education.
The project will be inaugurated
by defence minister George Fernandes. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh will also
attend the function. Of the 101 children, 97 are boys and four are girls.
