One hall for all

KUNRI: Students of Qazi Sultan Boys High School do not sit shoulder to shoulder in the classroom. They sit back to back.

When the roof in one classroom collapsed and the plaster on the walls of several others started falling apart after the end of the monsoons, students refused to put their lives in danger and decided to study somewhere else.

The building of one of the oldest schools in Kunri, Umerkot district, is not as ancient as it looks. Qazi Sultan Muhammad bought the building in 1964 and used his savings to set up this school.

The last renovations were done in 1995 when six additional rooms and a prinicpal’s office were built in the western portion of the building. However, the contractor used substandard material and now even these rooms are falling apart.

The students are suffering the most as 787 of them, from classes six to Matric, are using the same hall for their classes.

Using blackboards at both ends of the room, one half of the class sits facing one end, while the remaining ones face the other end.

There are at least two classes taking place at one time in this hall, originally meant to be a laboratory for intermediate students.

The teachers are also suffering along with their students.

The school principal, Fakir Muhammad Khaskheli, told the media that he has written the EDO Education and EDO Works of Umerkot and informed them of the situation.

The building for elementary classes cannot be used anymore so the students have been moved to the secondary section in order to avoid any accidents, he added.

Political and social workers of Umerkot, such as Khalil Ahmed Khokar, Ghulam Haider and Mahar Ghulam Mustafa have condemned the state of the school.

They have appealed to the government authorities to allocate funds for repairs and conduct an inquiry against the contractor who used substandard material in the building.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2010.