Under the microscope: Journalists identify gaps in education budget utilisation

PESHAWAR:

Alif Ailaan organised a consultation meeting on Sunday to hear the views of journalists on the utilisation of the education budget and missing facilities at government schools across the province.

The programme’s theme was ‘Journalists tracking the education budget’. Media personnel from various organisations took part in the session.



Alif Ailaan Regional Coordinator Umar Orakzai quoted the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU) and said 33% schools across the province lacked clean drinking water facilities. He added 19% of schools lacked toilet facilities, 18% were without boundary walls and 40% had no electricity.

Orakzai said the government claimed an increase in the education budget every year, but the system remained the same as did the problems.

Padlocked

The coordinator pointed out the sector was still in tatters in the rural areas where a large number of schools were non-functional. He added 16 schools were closed in Peshawar district, while 300 were non-functional due to various reasons. He stated a majority of the budget was used for salary and other operational expenses, while the development allocation was not utilised properly.

Orakzai added this resulted in a large part of the budget lapsing. He demanded the government utilise the development budget and provide basic facilities at schools.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Orakzai said the main objective of this event was to hear from journalists whether the budget was effectively utilised.

He said their views were taken into consideration and would be presented during a grand convention on the education budget. Orakzai said the organisation will discuss the matter with elected representatives and search for a solution to these issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2016.