Recreational space: Children to have playgrounds within school premises

Decision made by provincial education department

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government plans to construct 10,000 play areas in public sector schools across the province, aiming to provide sports facilities to the children.

Talking to The Express Tribune, K-P Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Muhammad Atif Khan said his department was providing facilities for activity-based learning in government primary schools for both girls and boys.

“Public sector schools were previously deprived of these facilities but under the new leadership, the department has been constructing 2,583 such play areas since June 2013 and plans to construct such facilities in 10,000 schools across the province.”

He said the previous government’s priority was not education but this is not the case with this government. “We have initiated programmes for the improvement of schools,” he added. “People’s trust has rebuilt and now they enrol their children in government schools.”



The minister further said, “These play areas would provide a healthy environment to children within the premises of schools where every kind of sports equipment will be provided to them.”

Talking to The Express Tribune, All Primary Teachers Association K-P President Malik Khalid Khan appreciated the government for this initiative and remarked that the play areas will improve the standard of government schools. He also suggested the government should focus on basic facilities that are missing in schools such as latrine, electricity and drinking water.

“Children of government schools used to play outside their schools, however, now they would play within the premises of schools – this would save them from various incidents,” he said.

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