Over 3,000 schools destroyed in militancy, disasters: official

Secretary says education sector moving forward despite challenges.

PESHAWAR:

Terrorism, floods and earthquakes have destroyed over 3,400 schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) during the past few years.

This was said by K-P Education Secretary Mushtaq Jadoon while talking to media persons here on Thursday.

According to Jadoon, a total of 758 schools were destroyed by militants in different parts of the province including 640 schools in Malakand Division. Among these schools, 164 were completely destroyed, while 476 were partially damaged.

In addition to that, 36 schools in Peshawar, Hangu, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and other areas of the province were completely destroyed by militants, while 82 were partially damaged.

The secretary said most of the damaged schools were rehabilitated by the Pakistan Army and different non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, the schools completely destroyed still awaiting reconstruction.

“Unfortunately when a school is rebuilt it is destroyed again by militants. However, we will not lose hope and spread education to all corners of the province,” he added.

In addition to terrorism, as many as 1,694 schools were destroyed by floods during the last two years. Among them, 160 schools were completely destructed while the remaining were partially damaged.

The government, Jadoon said, does not have enough funds to reconstruct these schools, adding that they were trying to arrange Rs2 billion from USAID for this purpose.

Moreover, the secretary said that a total of 950 schools were destroyed during the 2005 earthquake, out of which only 640 have been rehabilitated so far. “How can a province with insufficient resources bear all these burdens at the same time?” He questioned, adding that the province was “moving ahead” despite all these challenges.

The government, he explained, has allocated Rs6.7 billion for educational development in K-P in 2012-13 and it is expected that the remaining schools will be rebuilt in the coming year.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2012.