Swat children forced to study in ‘ovens’

Buildings of most schools destroyed in Swat during two-year insurgency are still to be reconstructed.

SWAT:

Buildings of the most of the more than 400 schools destroyed in Swat during the two-year insurgency are still to be reconstructed.

The government has claimed time and again that they will rehabilitate these schools but has not done much beyond talking.

The students are either forced to study in tents or in the open under the scorching sun without even the most basic facilities such as water or chairs. In situations like these, proper schooling seems not only impractical but the inadequate environment is also affecting the psychological health of the children.

“The temperature in the tents is even higher than outside, I hate attending classes in them as it is not easy with 55 other students. We are constantly changing positions for a shadier spot to escape the extreme heat and suffocation,” said Abid, a fifth grade student of Government Primary School Sherpalam. The school’s building was destroyed in 2009 by the Taliban.

Zarin Jan, another fifth grader, sitting in a worn-out tent, said, “The tents can not stand upright when strong winds blow and the poles fall hurting children in the process.” She said their parents were also angry with the situation.

“I don’t know when our trouble will end. We have been studying in these tents for three years,” she added.

Tasleema, a grade four student, who was using her notebook as a fan, told The Express Tribune that when the school re-opened, they had to sit in open air and on bricks and stones, since they did not even have jute-mats. She added, “I do not like my class because it is like an oven.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2011.