Dispute over watchman’s appointment closes school

Two cousins clash on petty matter, put families in quandary.

PESHAWAR:

In a country where education is increasingly being targeted by Taliban militants, closure of a school on a petty dispute, like the appointment of a watchman is alarming to say the least.

This school is no figment of the imagination: It is located in the village of Wazir Killay, about 20 kilometres northeast of Peshawar, near the border of the Mohmand Agency.

Taliban have so far destroyed over 100 schools throughout Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding tribal areas.

The school has been closed-off for the past 19 months because of a dispute between two cousins over the issue of who would get to be the school’s watchman, local villagers said.

Interestingly, the school operated normally when the dispute was being handled by local tribal jirgas and even when the contestants moved courts five years ago. However, it closed down right after police intervention.

Villagers said that the clash started when the tenure of the school watchman, Khair Muhammad, expired.

Shahzada Khan, the school’s head teacher, told The Express Tribune that the Executive District Officer (EDO), Education, Peshawar advised them to shift the students and staff to the GPS Shaghali Bala, about five kilometres from Wazir Killay.

“The school had at least 160 students enrolled before its closure. Now, only 88 of them go to Shaghali school,” Shahzada said.

He said that the other school is situated five kilometers away and a number of children cannot make the gruelling trip, especially during winter.

Darullah Khan, another man from the village, said: “The school’s closure has messed up our children’s future.”

Muzaffar Shah, another local man, described the dilemma faced by many parents, and said that unemployed parents could take their children to school on a bicycle, but those who have a job have their hands tied.

The EDO, Education, Peshawar, on Tuesday issued a letter to the city police chief asking him to vacate the school building. The letter said that police was still occupying the building when the situation had normalised.

He said that the occupation had brought down the number of students to 88 from 300 and would further have a negative effect on the area’s literacy ratio.

EDO Gohar Ali clarified that the school had been handed over to the police because of security concerns based on its proximity to the tribal area.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 01^st, 2011.