Attock's historic school struggles to make room

Government Pilot Secondary School Attock, one of the district's oldest and most historic educational institutions, faces a serious shortage of basic facilities, affecting more than 1,400 enrolled students.

Established in 1906, the institution has played a significant role in the educational and social development of Attock for more than a century. Its alumni include numerous officers, politicians, engineers, doctors and other prominent personalities who have served in various fields.

According to sources, the school has an insufficient number of classrooms to accommodate its growing student population. Although the number of teachers is considered satisfactory, the shortage of rooms has prevented the administration from establishing additional sections, forcing it to accommodate more students than the available classrooms can reasonably hold.

The situation has affected academic activities and made it increasingly difficult to maintain a conducive teaching and learning environment. The school also has only eight washrooms, which are inadequate for its current enrolment.

Sources said around four years ago, when District Public School Attock was launched without its own building, 10 classrooms, a library and 10 washrooms belonging to Government Pilot Secondary School were temporarily allocated to it. The facilities were reportedly to be returned once the new school building was completed.

Although the District Public School's own building has been ready for the past two years, the classrooms, library and washrooms have yet to be returned, leaving the historic institution struggling to meet its students' needs.

The matter has also been brought to the attention of the relevant education department officials in Attock, but no effective progress has been reported so far.

Education circles and parents have urged the Punjab education minister, the provincial education secretary, the Rawalpindi division commissioner and the Attock deputy commissioner to take immediate notice and ensure that the facilities are returned to Government Pilot Secondary School.

They said the restoration of the classrooms, library and washrooms was essential to providing more than 1,400 students with an adequate learning environment and meeting the needs of the district's historic educational institution.