...Is what the students of Haji Public School are singing, and they are not the only ones celebrating

Once on the banks of Chenab, a bunch of children were busy chatting amongst each other. As the villagers heard them, they began to wonder—the children looked like one of their own. But none of the local people knew English. How did this bunch manage to master it? Finally, the elders could take it no longer and went up to the bunch to ask them. It was then that the children shared a wonderful secret—Haji Public School (Breswana). Sabbah Haji beams with pride, and happiness, when she recounts how her students stand apart from the crowd. Her students are, of course, different from rest of their ilk; they are not only well-versed in English, they know how to use a computer and access the internet. In fact, Haji Public School students begin using the computer from Class I, an unthinkable practice in most government- run schools in Breswana, which is tucked away in the Doda mountains in Jammu and Kashmir. This is where Sabbah Haji, the school’s founder, belongs to. And this is where her mother was born. In 2008, when the Amarnath Riots broke out, Breswana was deeply impacted. Sabbah was in Bengaluru, working for a website designing firm. She watched the riots take place from the safe confines of her cubical. It was only when she received a distress call from her mother, did she realise that it was time to pack her bags and return. She quit her cushy corporate job and left, to start a school, funded by Haji Amina Charity Trust, which was started by her uncle, Nasir Haji. Within the first year, the school had 30 students. The extra care that Sabbah put in, reaped results, as her students began showing marked improvement right at the outset, whether in their conversation or comprehension skills. They read books, which Breswana has not seen before. Watching their children learn and grow, villagers began to send youngsters from their families, too, and winds of change began to blow. The journey thus far, might sound like a fairytale, but it was not always easy. Sabbah, however, does not believe in complaining. She is more than happy that the “children are getting their right to quality education”. And if you pester her enough, she opens up and explains the process. “Starting the school would not have been a problem had it not been for the authorities,” she confesses. The land was provided by her father, and the money by her uncle. But the permission to start the school and the legal frame work involved, crossing that hurdle was no mean feat. It took the Haji team quite a few trips down the hill to get the paperwork done. Authorities of the local government schools were scared. And rightly so, because what Sabbah and team were offering was so much more. Even today, when Haji Public School has earned quite a name, pan-India, local authorities and the state government refuse to acknowledge them. The school’s teachers are often made to travel distances for minor paperwork every other day. But Haji and team does not let such small details faze her. She accepts them as they come, and forgets about them the moment they are over. She talks with an infectious optimism about the future—where and how they plan to start a high school. “Right now, we only have lower classes. In higher classes, parents will start feeling uncomfortable sending girls to co-ed schools. We plan to have different schools for girls and boys by that time. The motive is to provide everyone with solid education. Once that happens, we can fight the gender issues,” she says. Sabbah and team also plan to start a college with hostel facilities for young men and women. With so many issues to fight, how does Haji Public School manage to get competent teachers and run their classes? Sabbah says that they pick local people and train them, ensuring that they are fit to teach a particular batch. The trust also runs volunteering programmes, where individuals from various parts of the country come and teach the children, and train the teachers as well. Haji Trust’s focus to hire only local people as teachers, has ensured steady employment in the village. And the locals are also involved in other activities surrounding the school. Unlike government schools, Sabbah makes her students pay a minimal fee, however, books and uniforms are distributed for free. Perhaps, it is this minimal amount that makes her students and their parents value the education they receive. Students of Haji Public School do not follow the government curriculum. Instead the team designed an innovative syllabus, where students are taught through toys, sketch books and picture perception methods. The school also provides students sports equipment. The school has a world-class library which boasts of more than a thousand books, most of which have been donated by organisations such as Pratham Books. The library is not just open for students and staff, but the entire village. Kashmir seems to be forever trapped in turbulent times, especially if you believe the 24*7 news channels. But within that violence and strife, there are little oases of peace, of which Haji Public School is one. It manages to function without worry lines. If Sabbah Haji is to be believed, the violence of Kashmir is a thing of the past. She tells us so, with such conviction that even we would like to believe it. Looking at Haji Public School and its students, makes us think that there is, at least, a part of Kashmir which remains at peace.