From 400 students to just 2, BBMB School-Pandoh on verge of closure

Only CBSE-affiliated government school in region gasping for breath

MANDI: In a shocking reflection of the declining state of public education in the country, the BBMB Senior Secondary School at Pandoh in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, once teeming with over 400 students, now has only two enrolled children — one in Class VI and the other in Class VII.

What was once a prestigious institution, where parents had had to pull strings and seek recommendations to secure admissions, has now become a deserted premise. The reason: A crippling shortage of teachers and the gross neglect of basic educational infrastructure.

Despite being operated under the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), an organisation that generates hundreds of crores from power production, the school has been left to rot.
Today, only three teachers remain to manage what was once a fully functional senior secondary school, affiliated with the CBSE, a rarity among government schools in this remote region.

From pride to abandonment

This institution was not just another school, but a symbol of quality education for the children of BBMB employees and the surrounding hill communities.
But with a sharp decline in facilities and no concrete effort to restore the system, parents have pulled their children out, opting for private institutions or sending them far afield in search of better education.

The situation has reached such a dire point that the BBMB itself is now providing transportation to staff children — not to this school, but to other private schools in the vicinity. Ironically, instead of fixing the broken system within their own premises, the administration has chosen to outsource the solution.

Locals cry foul, call it a conspiracy to shut the school

Furious residents of Pandoh see this as nothing short of a betrayal. “The BBMB is earning crores daily by exploiting local natural resources, yet the only educational facility for our children is being allowed to die a slow death,” said Fateh Ram, a local resident.

Others like Chandramani, Manoj Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Vishal Sood, Gaurav Krishna and Tarun echoed the sentiment, calling it a “deliberate move” to shut down the school.

The community is demanding immediate action, demanding urgent recruitment of qualified teachers, improvement of basic infrastructure and public assurance that the school would not be closed under any circumstances.
They have even warned of mass protests if corrective measures were not initiated soon.

BBMB’s response: Too little, too late?

When contacted, Ajay Pal Singh, Superintendent Engineer at BBMB, claimed that the school was not being closed and that the recruitment of teachers on an outsource basis was currently underway. “We are committed to serving the people of Pandoh,” he said.

However, for the families who once trusted this institution with their children’s future, these assurances sound hollow. They demand action, not promises.

Munish Sood