Authorities say they are making alternate arrangements for students unable to go to school
For the last seven months, several schools have been shut at Jhanghar in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, near the Line of Control, due to relentless shelling by Pakistan, affecting more than 300 students.
Radhika, a student of Class 3, longs for the day when schools reopen.
"The school is closed for the last seven months as a lot of firing takes place here," he says.
The nearest school from Jhanghar which is open is around 20 kilometres away in Nowshera in Rajouri district.
"My father can't afford sending me there," says Radhika.
Her plight is shared by many here.
"How can the poor students get education? The bus fare to the nearest school which is open is Rs 50... half of the students have left education," said Ashok Kumar, a resident at the Line of Control.
Nazia, a Class 7 student, is among the lucky ones who can afford education, and she says she knows the worth of it.
"My parents work very hard, they are spending all their earning for my education. I want to achieve something in life now," said Nazia.
839 families, which have almost 4,000 people, have migrated due to Pakistani shelling in the last six months. 3,500 are living in camps; 84 schools had closed initially, but many have reopened now. The authorities say they are making alternate arrangements for the students who are unable to go to school.
"They are deprived of formal classrooms, we are setting up alternative compensatory classes in the camps", said Shahid Iqbal, Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri.