Education woes: School in Mohmand Agency reels under financial pressure

Institute likely to close down in September

SHABQADAR: A school in Mohmand Agency is running out of finances and is likely to close down in September.

Abdul Qayum Khan, a resident of Ambar Mohmand Agency, told The Express Tribune he established a school under a thatched roof at his guesthouse in 2010. This was a time when militancy was at its peak in the region. Abdul Qayum established the school under the directive of the then political agent (PA) of Mohmand, Amjad Ali Khan, who promised to pay the salaries of two teachers employed at the school from his funds. However, the PA was transferred in 2012. Since then, Abdul Qayum has been paying the teachers’ salaries from his own pocket.



“The area has a vast population, yet there are no schools to educate the children here,” Abdul Qayum says. “My school has 150 registered and 50 unregistered students.”

He added the students do not have proper classrooms or furniture. A majority of them sit on the floor on woven jute mats or on the boundary wall of the guesthouse. Some students bring empty jute sacks to sit on during the classes.

“The PA had once visited the education department and asked for provisions and salaries,” he recalls. “He did not succeed in procuring anything, we are on our own.”

Abdul Qayum was injured when an improvised explosive device went off in the area in 2015. “I am no longer in a position to provide the salaries of teachers,” he says. “The school will shut down by September.”

Abdullah is a student at Abdul Qayum’s school. He is devoted to his education and is often disappointed when the school is closed.

“People from the area value education but there are no schools for us here,” he adds.

Ambar is a densely populated tehsil in the agency and there are no high schools in the area. Most students have to give up on their education after passing middle school, as high schools in other tehsils are also far away.

Maqsood Ahmad, an activist, told The Express Tribune more than 50 students from the area go to secondary school in Bajaur Agency, but the school is 25 kilometres away.

“We have requested the education department several times to upgrade the schools but to no avail,” he added.

At least 94 schools have been shut down in Mohmand Agency under the rationalisation policy and the staff from those schools has been deployed to other schools. However, Maqsood maintains that no teachers have been sent to Ambar.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2016.