Not on paper:Documents bear outdated titles of schools renamed after APS victims

Senior official says reminder has been sent to school administrations

PESHAWAR: A year-and-a-half has passed since over 150 people, mostly schoolchildren, lost their lives in the heinous attack on Army Public School. Shortly after the massacre, the government decided to rename 107 government schools after the victims. However, only the signboards bear the new names – the documents remain unchanged.

The decision to rename the schools was taken on March 5, 2015. However, documents of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) reveal the schools have not been renamed on paperwork. Even the mark sheets of these schools bear the old name of these institutes.



According to the K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Department’s records, 107 government schools across K-P were renamed.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, education expert Malik Masood said good governance in the sector comes with a mixture of implementation and commitment, not just planning. He said several laws had been passed by the various governments in K-P, but few were implemented in letter and spirit.

“If the government changed the name of schools in the memory of students, why does the administration not follow up on the policy?” he asked.

K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Department Planning and Development Deputy Director Wali Khan said school administrations in various districts were ordered to rename the schools, but some failed to so.

According to Wali, the new names would be used from now in documents. The deputy director said a reminder was issued to these schools last week and the new mark sheets will bear the new names. He added the old sheets bore the outdated names as they had already been printed.

Wali said the issue would be followed up and he would direct district education officers to take notice of the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2016.