Studying outdoors, especially this close to LoC, increases sense of insecurity among students and teachers alike. PHOTO: EXPRESS
When the 2005 quake struck Azad Jammu and Kashmir, at least 2,800 schools in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot fell to the ground. Out of these, only 1,200 were reconstructed by the authorities.
Today, the students of Captain Ghulam Hassan Government Boys High School in Chakoti – just 60 kilometres away from the capital – are among more than one hundred thousand children who are still studying under the open skies, during scorching summers and freezing winters, as their schools have not been rebuilt yet.
“I was in the second grade when the earthquake struck and demolished my school. Now, I’m in the ninth grade, and I’m still reading under the sun. The building hasn’t been reconstructed in 8 years,” says Umar Yasir.
Studying outdoors, especially this close to the LoC, increases the sense of insecurity among students and teachers alike.
“The school is situated in the firing range of the Indian Army, and whenever troops from both sides exchange fire, we feel insecure,” says Headmaster Liaqat Abbasi. “The small arms can easily hit the premises of the school, and that leaves students in a perpetually tense state.” According to Abbasi, the authorities should have reconstructed the school on time, due to the security situation.
“When a school without a building is within the firing range of the enemy, how can any teacher or student perform to the best of his or her ability?” he asks.
When Sardar Rahim Khan, the secretary of the State Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (SERRA), was asked about the reconstruction of the remaining 1,500 quake-hit schools, he revealed that the government has not released 14 billion rupees for this task.
“When we receive the money from the federal government, the work will start to reconstruct the left over schools in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2013.
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