OUR CORRESPONDENT
SIVASAGAR: Tonisha, Rubina and Rakhi study in Class V in a government high school. Their school is 4 km away from their village. The school falls short on classrooms, safe drinking water, library, toilets, computer lab and sporting facilities. Despite such a discouraging environment, they are regular to school.
Tonisha wants to become an engineer, Rubina a school teacher and Rakhi an IAS officer. Like them there are 400 boys and girls in the school who come from nearby hamlets and villages. They too have dreams like the trio. But their dreams are accompanied by a streak of fear as their school lacks in amenities.
“I fear that someday owing to lack of learning facilities, my parents may ask me to stop school,” says Rubina.
When asked about ONGC’s projects and achievements implemented in the priority focus area of education, an ONGC spokesperson said that for as many as 50,000 pupils in schools of Sivasagar, Tinsukia and Charaideo districts of Assam, ONGC’s Assam Asset has extended financial assistance of Rs 13 crore in the last two financial years to fortify school infrastructure. Fifty schools received assistance for safe drinking water units, toilets and furniture.
ONGC continues to spend more than 50 per cent of its CSR budget towards strengthening the school infrastructure, including classroom construction, establishing e-classroom facility, constructing toilets and securing safe drinking water.
The company incurs an expenditure of over Rs 5 crore per annum for supporting KV Schools in Nazira and Sivasagar and Delhi Public School in Ligiripukhuri, and the flagship programme of Super 30 stands testimony to the ONGC’s passion towards social development of Assam.