At one of Korangi’s govt schools, the field is a place to trip

There are no watchmen at the school, which is underfunded.

KARACHI:

“If anyone is caught taking drugs here, he will be dealt with harshly,” warns a message scribbled on the yellowing wall of a dilapidated building in Korangi No. 2. The floor below is a grotesque abstract of needles, empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts.

This is the Government Urdu Boys Primary School, a place of learning during the day and drug addicts’ haunt by the evening. Here, preparing for class entails not only drawing up lesson plans or compiling lecture notes but also spending an hour to sweep away the filth that accumulates daily.

At the Government Urdu Boys Primary School in Korangi, there is a big hole in the wall next to the gate through which addicts walk into the field quite casually. PHOTO: EXPRESS

“Sometimes the addicts also use the classrooms as toilets,” said the headmistress, Noor Jahan. She added that after a long spell of holidays, teachers dread walking into the school, trying not to think of the remnants left behind by people chasing a high. No place is off-limits for the addicts and rubbish is strewn everywhere - from the classrooms to the playing field in front of the school.

But as much as the addicts leave behind, they take away too. “People steal from this school as if everything here was valuable,” said the headmistress. Chairs, desks and grilles vanished a long time ago and now the addicts fish for wires in the electrical sockets, plucking away anything that they can clench with their fists.

Syed Rashid Ali, who has been teaching at the school for the last 20 years, said that someone needs to step up fast. “Whatever is left in the building will not be here after this summer. The number of students has decreased like the number of things from the school.”

Nothing in the kitty

The addicts may be a major irritant for the 65 students and five teachers of the school, but the headmistress said that with the meagre funds at their disposal, there isn’t much that can be done. Five years ago, Rs60,000 were spent to replace the grilles, desks and chairs that had been stolen. The addicts promptly came back to claim this as well. After this, the school received a mere Rs20,000 for maintenance.

 The City District Government Karachi Boys and Girls Primary School, also located in the neighbourhood, isn’t doing any better. Construction work has been going on for over a year. PHOTO: EXPRESS

“Apart from this, I haven’t received a penny in the last 10 years,” said Jahan. Since there isn’t a steady source of funds, a watchman cannot be hired to ward off men who invade the building through the holes in the boundary walls.

The lack of funds manifests itself in other ways too. There is no electricity and the faucets have been dry for ages. To answer the call of nature, the boys go outside and relieve themselves in the narrow space between the boundary wall and the building, which is also strewn with rubbish from the neighbourhood.

Though its name implies that it is supposed to be an educational institution for boys, the faculty welcomes girls too. Whoever comes is a blessing for the school, they say.

Other schools, other problems

The City District Government Karachi Boys and Girls Primary School located close by isn’t faring any better. Unlike the neighbouring institution, nothing has been scribbled on the walls of the school - but the place was screaming for a facelift. Construction has been in progress for over a year but there are no signs of it being wrapped up any time soon. Just a handful of workers could be seen trying to erect a boundary wall. Though the school was slightly cleaner, a girl had to stand next to a small heap of garbage while singing the national anthem during assembly.



The Millat Government Boys Secondary School, which is also located in the neighbourhood, seems to be doing much better in terms of hygiene and quality of education. There are 19 teachers at the school, where over 400 children attend classes. The headmaster, Maqbool Ahmed, said that the institution was registered with the Duke of Edinburgh, an organisation which awards certificates to students for completing a programme.

But this school too has its fair share of problems. It used to be spread over a larger compound which was later split into smaller schools. Now, Ahmed claims that his institution is short on space. “We had to convert one of the two labs into a classroom due to the shortage of space since the building was divided into two wings.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2013.