Swat’s schools in ruins, even after a year

Even a year after peace and calm returned to the Swat Valley, the area’s schools are still in a state of disrepair.  Their run-down condition exposes the hollowness of the promises made by the government to restore education in the area.

It is important to note that the Swat Valley had a total 1,576 state-run schools out of which 397 schools were bombed or torched by the militants affiliated with Mullah Fazullah, who is also the chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban, Swat chapter. As many as 174 schools - 120 for girls and 54 for boys – were completely destroyed. Another 93 schools were partially damaged. Some 256,117 students, both girls and boys, were affected as a result.

The militants destroyed schools on the grounds that they taught the curriculum of the ‘infidels’. They, in fact, wanted to promote schools with their own curriculum in the area, which they thought would primarily produce ‘pious’ individuals and the ‘Mujahideen’.

Though US assistance has been provided to restore 107 schools, no actual progress has been seen on the restoration front, making education the worst affected sector in Swat.

However, Fazal Ahad, the assistant district officer for planning and development of education department in Swat, insists that education is proceeding in the nearest buildings of the destroyed schools. Another 58 tent schools have also been established in the area, according to Ahad.

Alluding to the reconstruction process, Ahad says that work will be initiated soon on the 107 schools for which the PC-1 is ready.

However, one of the headmasters pointed towards the oppressive heat faced by the students, which, according to him, further made the rendering of quality education difficult as he said, “It really creates feelings of dislike with schools and education in the minds of the students.”

A social activist and a member of Global Peace Council, Zahid Khan expressed anger as he claimed that the restoration of the schools in Swat could have been handled much more effectively by the community.  “A ten-storey building can be built in 4 to 5 months by a private person and our government has failed miserably to restore schools even after a year,” Khan adds.

While efforts for the improvement of tourism are in full swing, with the military organising peace festivals, it is sad that no developmental work has been initiated by the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2010.