Aid oversight: British envoy visits Mardan to review education and health support

ISLAMABAD: It was good to see how local communities are working to promote improvements in primary health services.

This was said by British High Commissioner Thomas Drew on Thursday on a visit to Mardan, where he toured two schools and a Basic Health Unit.

The schools are being supported by the UK’s education sector programme in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The programme comprises both financial support to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department and a school reconstruction and rehabilitation programme.

The boys’ Government Higher Secondary School in Mayar has been revamped by to include 13 classrooms, new offices for the principal and the administration, and a new toilet block with 11 washrooms, including one for children with disabilities.

The girls’ Government Higher Secondary School in Par Hoti will have 19 new classrooms which will allow many more girls to attend school. When fully functional, the two schools will help educate more than 2,100 students, including 1,260 girls.

The high commissioner also visited a Basic Health Unit in Sheikh Maltoon, which is supported by UK aid. The unit provides basic outpatient and preventive health services, including nutrition, family planning and routine immunisation for underprivileged local communities.

Drew also met K-P Education Minister Atif Khan and K-P Health Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai to discuss provincial public service priorities and the UK’s ongoing support programmes in the education and health sectors.

“While visiting the two schools, I was able to see for myself how our support for construction work is allowing more young people to go to school and have a better learning environment; and how our support to the K-P government is improving the quality of teaching and learning. He also expressed pleasure at the impact UK aid is having at the BHU he visited.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2016.