Education woes: Half a century later, Faisalabad school lies in a shambles

School caters to educational needs of children residing in more than a dozen villages.

FAISALABAD: The tall claims made by the government regarding improvisation of infrastructure in the government schools appear to have fallen flat, especially at Government Primary School in Shah Murad, Faisalabad which is in a dilapidated condition.

The school is situated in Shah Murad Village and was established in 1973.

Even though the school has two classrooms, not one is clean, safe or ventilated. The students of this school are forced to study in deplorable conditions as the school even lacks basic facilities. However, their woes are not limited to the lack of basic facilities, the classrooms where the children sit have gaping holes in the ceilings and there are cracks in the walls.

The appearance of these rooms is a far cry from what a classroom look like. Rather they appear like cells for prisoners. For the school staff, problems are aplenty as well.

Two powerful politicians, including former federal interior minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat and former federal minister Syeda Abida Hussain belong to the constituency but have never paid heed to ensure provisions of basic needs of the school and its up-gradation.

The school caters to the needs of education for children residing in more than a dozen villages, including Shah Murad, Shadi Pur, Mahabli Sultan and others both for boys and girls.

Owing to the lack of basic facilities, a vast majority of parents are reluctant to send their children to get education at the place. More than 80% children in the area are not enroll ed at schools.



The school lacks a boundary wall and main entrance gate. In addition, the influential of the area also use the trees in its front yard to tie their cattle.

The Punjab government transferred the administrative and financial control of the school to an NGO Akhuwat Foundation in August 2015, which too could not make any headway to address the plight of the students and teachers.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, Headmaster Sajjad Ali Gadhi said the non-profit since taking over the school has provided a dozen chairs and some other materials but has not taken any practical, concrete steps to make the school fully equipped and upgrade it as per the standards.

“The required results, including enhanced enrollments and improvement in education and basic infrastructure are of least concern for the government,” he added. “The school has been in a dilapidated condition even after the NGO took control of it.”

There are three female graduate teachers at the school who are paid just Rs8,000 per month. Books are being provided to the students free of charge.

The headmaster of the school, who is an Intermediate graduate, gets Rs7,000 salary per month.

In reply to a question, Headmaster Sajjad said a survey has already been conducted for the provision of electricity and construction of boundary walls of the school. “But, I cannot tell when both issues would be resolved,” he lamented.

He believes there is a dire need to initiate a special drive for the enrollment of children from other villages in order to achieve the target of 100% enrollment.

“Looking at the present state of affairs of the school, the initiative cannot materialise,” he said.

Saad Rasool, a resident of Shah Murad, told The Express Tribune his son Atif is a student of nursery class.

“We are upset due to the lack of basic facilities in the school and standard of education,” he said, adding the government had given control of the school to Akhuwat on the pretext of improving the standard of education but even after two years, it lacks basic provisions, including drinking water, electricity, furniture and boundary walls etc.

A banner displayed at the school building claims one teacher is available for 25 students while the school has furniture, swings and a maid as well.

But the reality is different. The school still lacks the required number of teachers or swings or maids.

Akhuwat Foundation Tehsil Coordinator Atiqur Rehman told The Express Tribune a report on improvement in the infrastructure of the school and other needs have been sent to the education authorities.

“As soon as we receive the required funds, the upgrade of school will commence,” he claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2017.