Obstacles in education: Vagabond school seeks building in vain
Students of Primary School Masho Khel have not had a permanent abode since its inception.
Five months ago, the 182 unfortunate students were asked to vacate the hujra they were using. PHOTO: EXPRESS
PESHAWAR:
Government Primary School (GPS) No 1 Masho Khel was established circa 1916, but is without a building 97 years since its creation.
Over the years, the school was moved from one building to another. Sometimes, local hujra buildings were used. Five months ago, one hujra owner refused to allow the students to use his building, forcing the unfortunate children to sit in a local mosque instead.
According to locals, the school initially used two mud rooms and a plot as its building. But the area was not officially allocated to the school and two decades ago, the education department established a high school there.
“It is one of the first schools in the entire district. I have obtained an admission register of the year 1932, in which the names of Ram Lal, Mehander Singh, Sobander Singh and Harbajeet Singh are written. In pre-partition times, a good number of Hindus and Sikhs who were mainly traders lived in these areas,” Faiz Muhammad, a local elder and ex-naib nazim told The Express Tribune.
He said all the famous Maliks of his village, including Malik Tehmas Khan, Malik Azad Khan and Malik Latif – all dead now – were students of this school.
“When Awami National Party (ANP) came into power five years ago, we thought our troubles are over forever as I am an ANP worker myself. But it is unfortunate that the two times I met education minister Sardar Hussain Babak, he assured me of a permanent solution, but nothing came out of it.
A teacher of GPS Masho Khel said only 182 students are currently enrolled in the school as most of the kids left during the past five months. “We have 30 children in class 5, 25 in class 4, 17 in class 3, 15 in class 2, 15 in class 1, 30 younger children in a separate class and 50 in nursery,” he said, adding teachers do not know what the future holds for these unfortunate children either.
“You know their parents cannot afford to send them to private schools. I think most of them will end up working at workshops of mechanics if they are really lucky.” He added that if they are not lucky enough, some of them will take up petty crimes or smuggling as a profession.
Another local elder blamed the government as much as the militants for destroying most of the schools in the village and surrounding areas in the past few years. “Yes, they (militants) are destroying the buildings of schools. But the education department has destroyed the very foundation of our education system without even inviting attention,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
An official of the education department said it was unfortunate but true that GPS Masho Khel was without a proper building. “The good news is that the local MPA has approached us to fund the construction of the building and one of his party workers has offered 40 marlas of land for the purpose,” he said.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not the ill-fated school will have its own building to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2013.
Government Primary School (GPS) No 1 Masho Khel was established circa 1916, but is without a building 97 years since its creation.
Over the years, the school was moved from one building to another. Sometimes, local hujra buildings were used. Five months ago, one hujra owner refused to allow the students to use his building, forcing the unfortunate children to sit in a local mosque instead.
According to locals, the school initially used two mud rooms and a plot as its building. But the area was not officially allocated to the school and two decades ago, the education department established a high school there.
“It is one of the first schools in the entire district. I have obtained an admission register of the year 1932, in which the names of Ram Lal, Mehander Singh, Sobander Singh and Harbajeet Singh are written. In pre-partition times, a good number of Hindus and Sikhs who were mainly traders lived in these areas,” Faiz Muhammad, a local elder and ex-naib nazim told The Express Tribune.
He said all the famous Maliks of his village, including Malik Tehmas Khan, Malik Azad Khan and Malik Latif – all dead now – were students of this school.
“When Awami National Party (ANP) came into power five years ago, we thought our troubles are over forever as I am an ANP worker myself. But it is unfortunate that the two times I met education minister Sardar Hussain Babak, he assured me of a permanent solution, but nothing came out of it.
A teacher of GPS Masho Khel said only 182 students are currently enrolled in the school as most of the kids left during the past five months. “We have 30 children in class 5, 25 in class 4, 17 in class 3, 15 in class 2, 15 in class 1, 30 younger children in a separate class and 50 in nursery,” he said, adding teachers do not know what the future holds for these unfortunate children either.
“You know their parents cannot afford to send them to private schools. I think most of them will end up working at workshops of mechanics if they are really lucky.” He added that if they are not lucky enough, some of them will take up petty crimes or smuggling as a profession.
Another local elder blamed the government as much as the militants for destroying most of the schools in the village and surrounding areas in the past few years. “Yes, they (militants) are destroying the buildings of schools. But the education department has destroyed the very foundation of our education system without even inviting attention,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
An official of the education department said it was unfortunate but true that GPS Masho Khel was without a proper building. “The good news is that the local MPA has approached us to fund the construction of the building and one of his party workers has offered 40 marlas of land for the purpose,” he said.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not the ill-fated school will have its own building to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2013.