School awaits building since 1991 in K-P
Subsequent govts and politicians promised to construct the school but reneged on their promises once elected.
PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
It is hard to believe that in this day and age of advanced digital technology where education and knowledge can be accessed by the click of a mouse we still have a school system that is incapable of providing basic facilities to its schools and students.
A glaring example of this pathetic state of affairs is that of the Government Primary Maktab School Wara Banda in Urban Union Council Timergara, Lower Dir, which has been functioning without a proper building since 1991 and yet catering to the educational needs of more than 100 students, including girls who are imparted education under open skies in the scorching heat.
The school has only one dilapidated room which cannot accommodate the students while the local school authority has allocated some limited equipment like a board, water colours, attendance register and a cupboard.
This primary school provides education from nursery to third class with only a single teacher managing all the classes.
The school lacks basic amenities such as clean drinking water, toilet and electricity.
In the aftermath of the Army Public School (APS) tragedy on December 16, 2014 in which 150 students and staff lost their lives. The K-P government had decided to construct boundary walls of all its educational institutions, however, according to the K-P independent monitoring unit still eight % schools across the province are without boundary walls.
Locals talking to The Express Tribune said no one in the government paid heed to their grievances. Bakht Zada Khan, a local resident pointed out that in previous government Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected from this constituency and he was well aware of the prevailing situation but did nothing done for the people.
Similarly K-P Finance Minister Muzzafar Said was voted into office from this constituency but he was also indifferent to the problem. Another resident Bashir Khan lamented that no government in power had ever done anything for education during the election campaign politicians would come and make pledges but once elected would renege on their tall promises.
Said added that ever since 1991 the state of this school has been the same and despite the tall claims made by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led government for education emergency in the province scores of schools in the area are still without basic facilities.
He demanded the government approve a proper school for this area or merge this school in the nearby government primary school Mian Banda. When, contacted K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Media Adviser Najiullah Khattak said that the current government is cognisant of the problem in the education sector and is trying its best to provide all facilities in schools.
Khattak informed that so far 16,000 school boundary walls have been constructed while 20,000 additional rooms built in government schools across the province. He said that nearly 1,500 Maktab schools have merged in nearest government primary school while very few still remain. “ We will check the status of this school and will merge it in near government school,” Khattak informed.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2017.
It is hard to believe that in this day and age of advanced digital technology where education and knowledge can be accessed by the click of a mouse we still have a school system that is incapable of providing basic facilities to its schools and students.
A glaring example of this pathetic state of affairs is that of the Government Primary Maktab School Wara Banda in Urban Union Council Timergara, Lower Dir, which has been functioning without a proper building since 1991 and yet catering to the educational needs of more than 100 students, including girls who are imparted education under open skies in the scorching heat.
The school has only one dilapidated room which cannot accommodate the students while the local school authority has allocated some limited equipment like a board, water colours, attendance register and a cupboard.
This primary school provides education from nursery to third class with only a single teacher managing all the classes.
The school lacks basic amenities such as clean drinking water, toilet and electricity.
In the aftermath of the Army Public School (APS) tragedy on December 16, 2014 in which 150 students and staff lost their lives. The K-P government had decided to construct boundary walls of all its educational institutions, however, according to the K-P independent monitoring unit still eight % schools across the province are without boundary walls.
Locals talking to The Express Tribune said no one in the government paid heed to their grievances. Bakht Zada Khan, a local resident pointed out that in previous government Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected from this constituency and he was well aware of the prevailing situation but did nothing done for the people.
Similarly K-P Finance Minister Muzzafar Said was voted into office from this constituency but he was also indifferent to the problem. Another resident Bashir Khan lamented that no government in power had ever done anything for education during the election campaign politicians would come and make pledges but once elected would renege on their tall promises.
Said added that ever since 1991 the state of this school has been the same and despite the tall claims made by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led government for education emergency in the province scores of schools in the area are still without basic facilities.
He demanded the government approve a proper school for this area or merge this school in the nearby government primary school Mian Banda. When, contacted K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Media Adviser Najiullah Khattak said that the current government is cognisant of the problem in the education sector and is trying its best to provide all facilities in schools.
Khattak informed that so far 16,000 school boundary walls have been constructed while 20,000 additional rooms built in government schools across the province. He said that nearly 1,500 Maktab schools have merged in nearest government primary school while very few still remain. “ We will check the status of this school and will merge it in near government school,” Khattak informed.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2017.