War against education?: PTI leaders accuse education department of running ghost schools
Say 90 out of 96 schools in the district are only on paper.
Teachers registered at these ghost schools pay a certain share of their salaries to clerks and officials of the department and get a salary in return, Sikandar said. PHOTO: FILE
KOHISTAN:
Members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have accused the education department in Kohistan district of running 90 ghost schools for girls.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, PTI workers Mir Ghaza Sikandar and Malik Ghani disclosed in Dassu tehsil there are 96 girls primary schools out of which only six were operational, while the rest have been closed for the last several years. The government’s drive to increase enrolment in government schools is bound to fail this way, they said.
Employees of the education department in Kohistan are allegedly involved in this corruption. Teachers registered at these ghost schools pay a certain share of their salaries to clerks and officials of the department and get a salary in return, Sikandar said. Teachers who do not give a share of the salary are subjected to legal action.
Ghani said men are working on posts meant for women officers in the education department. Because of the male-dominated set-up, most women teachers avoid visiting the department’s office in the district. The situation in Kundiya tehsil and Palas tehsil is similar, with dozens of schools closed and teachers drawing salaries without attending classes.
District Education Officer (DEO) Khan Muhammad was posted in the district during the Awami National Party’s (ANP) government and rarely comes to work, Ghani added.
When The Express Tribune called the DEO for comments he was out of office, but an official at the office, requesting anonymity, rejected the allegations levelled by the PTI members. “There are very few schools which are not functional and that too because there is a shortage of teachers. Students of these schools have been shifted to neighbouring institutes,” he said.“Education is the top priority of the incumbent government.”
He further said men are occupying some seats meant for women because of a lack of female employees. The conservative mindset in the district has always been a major obstacle in having women on all posts designated for them. He also brushed aside the allegation that teachers absent from their duties pay the clerical staff bribes in exchange for salaries. “Following a judgement of the Peshawar High Court, ghost schools have been made operational and a monitoring system has already been put in place.”
The anti-corruption department last year unearthed over two dozen ghost schools in Kohistan, registered criminal cases against teaching staff and their seniors, and collected 50% of the salaries drawn during the last one year.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2013.
Members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have accused the education department in Kohistan district of running 90 ghost schools for girls.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, PTI workers Mir Ghaza Sikandar and Malik Ghani disclosed in Dassu tehsil there are 96 girls primary schools out of which only six were operational, while the rest have been closed for the last several years. The government’s drive to increase enrolment in government schools is bound to fail this way, they said.
Employees of the education department in Kohistan are allegedly involved in this corruption. Teachers registered at these ghost schools pay a certain share of their salaries to clerks and officials of the department and get a salary in return, Sikandar said. Teachers who do not give a share of the salary are subjected to legal action.
Ghani said men are working on posts meant for women officers in the education department. Because of the male-dominated set-up, most women teachers avoid visiting the department’s office in the district. The situation in Kundiya tehsil and Palas tehsil is similar, with dozens of schools closed and teachers drawing salaries without attending classes.
District Education Officer (DEO) Khan Muhammad was posted in the district during the Awami National Party’s (ANP) government and rarely comes to work, Ghani added.
When The Express Tribune called the DEO for comments he was out of office, but an official at the office, requesting anonymity, rejected the allegations levelled by the PTI members. “There are very few schools which are not functional and that too because there is a shortage of teachers. Students of these schools have been shifted to neighbouring institutes,” he said.“Education is the top priority of the incumbent government.”
He further said men are occupying some seats meant for women because of a lack of female employees. The conservative mindset in the district has always been a major obstacle in having women on all posts designated for them. He also brushed aside the allegation that teachers absent from their duties pay the clerical staff bribes in exchange for salaries. “Following a judgement of the Peshawar High Court, ghost schools have been made operational and a monitoring system has already been put in place.”
The anti-corruption department last year unearthed over two dozen ghost schools in Kohistan, registered criminal cases against teaching staff and their seniors, and collected 50% of the salaries drawn during the last one year.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2013.