Misplaced priorities: In Rawalpindi, education is not a priority for public representatives
Construction work on two colleges has been stalled since 2011.
Since 2009, no funds have been released for the degree college for boys in Dhoke Syedan. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD JAVAID/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
For the residents of Dhoke Syedan, a rural locality on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, education may be a top priority, but for their elected representatives that does not seem to be the case.
The glaring example of this apathy by our rulers towards the people can be judged by the fact that two colleges for boys and girls were announced to be built in the locality in 2007 by then Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Basharat Raja.
For this he pledged to provide Rs160 million. In 2008-09, around Rs60 of the Rs70 million allocated for the girls’ college was released, with which 70 per cent of work has been completed. Doors, windows, lights, fans and a water sanitation system need to be installed to make the building functional.
Meanwhile, only 30 per cent of work has been completed in the boys’ college with Rs40 of the Rs90 million in the same time period. In 2011, for reasons unknown, the two colleges were added to the growing list of unfunded projects.
Around 200,000 to 300,000 residents from the area and surrounding localities are expected to benefit if the colleges are completed. Locals say they have staged several protests and sit-ins to which the authorities have paid no heed.
They warned of another protest in front of the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office if the remaining funds were not released to expedite work on the projects.
All Punjab Teachers Association Information Secretary Qaisar Aftab lamented the Punjab government’s inaction. Because there is no college in the locality, our children have to travel several miles, which is both time consuming and costly, said Aftab, who is also a local resident. “I give my son, who attends Government Gordon College Rawalpindi, an extra Rs100 daily to meet travelling costs, a huge burden on my finances.”
Ziafat Ali, another resident said there was no higher secondary school or degree college in the locality and they had to send their children to Tench Bhaata, Saddar, 6th Road and other areas. “It’s too difficult to get admission there, due to limited seats and because institutions prefer to accommodate their own students and those from the periphery.”
The colleges would have benefitted hundreds of students and their basic right shouldn’t be sacrificed for political point scoring, said Usman Malik, an advocacy officer at the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives.
Rawalpindi Colleges Deputy Director Khizer Hayat Kundi said they had dispatched five reports on unfunded projects in Rawalpindi district to the Association for the Development of Pakistan (ADP) in Lahore, in four months. These two projects were part of the reports.
We have also attached a special report on the projects, comprising 26 points on its significance and but are still waiting for a reply. The colleges are a necessity for locals and the department wants to complete them as soon as possible, he added.
“I don’t think the remaining funds will be released in the near future until local political leaders take up the issue,” said an official requesting anonymity. The unfunded projects are not in the list of current recipients for ADP funds.
The colleges are located in NA-54, from where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Malik Abrar was re-elected in the 2013 general elections. He could not be reached for comment. PML-N MPA Malik Iftikhar said funds for the two pending projects had been released and work would start soon. He could not say why the colleges had not been completed during the previous tenure.
The people have other long-standing demands like clean drinking water, basic health units and hospitals, but the colleges top their list.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.
For the residents of Dhoke Syedan, a rural locality on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, education may be a top priority, but for their elected representatives that does not seem to be the case.
The glaring example of this apathy by our rulers towards the people can be judged by the fact that two colleges for boys and girls were announced to be built in the locality in 2007 by then Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Basharat Raja.
For this he pledged to provide Rs160 million. In 2008-09, around Rs60 of the Rs70 million allocated for the girls’ college was released, with which 70 per cent of work has been completed. Doors, windows, lights, fans and a water sanitation system need to be installed to make the building functional.
Meanwhile, only 30 per cent of work has been completed in the boys’ college with Rs40 of the Rs90 million in the same time period. In 2011, for reasons unknown, the two colleges were added to the growing list of unfunded projects.
Around 200,000 to 300,000 residents from the area and surrounding localities are expected to benefit if the colleges are completed. Locals say they have staged several protests and sit-ins to which the authorities have paid no heed.
They warned of another protest in front of the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office if the remaining funds were not released to expedite work on the projects.
All Punjab Teachers Association Information Secretary Qaisar Aftab lamented the Punjab government’s inaction. Because there is no college in the locality, our children have to travel several miles, which is both time consuming and costly, said Aftab, who is also a local resident. “I give my son, who attends Government Gordon College Rawalpindi, an extra Rs100 daily to meet travelling costs, a huge burden on my finances.”
Ziafat Ali, another resident said there was no higher secondary school or degree college in the locality and they had to send their children to Tench Bhaata, Saddar, 6th Road and other areas. “It’s too difficult to get admission there, due to limited seats and because institutions prefer to accommodate their own students and those from the periphery.”
The colleges would have benefitted hundreds of students and their basic right shouldn’t be sacrificed for political point scoring, said Usman Malik, an advocacy officer at the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives.
Rawalpindi Colleges Deputy Director Khizer Hayat Kundi said they had dispatched five reports on unfunded projects in Rawalpindi district to the Association for the Development of Pakistan (ADP) in Lahore, in four months. These two projects were part of the reports.
We have also attached a special report on the projects, comprising 26 points on its significance and but are still waiting for a reply. The colleges are a necessity for locals and the department wants to complete them as soon as possible, he added.
“I don’t think the remaining funds will be released in the near future until local political leaders take up the issue,” said an official requesting anonymity. The unfunded projects are not in the list of current recipients for ADP funds.
The colleges are located in NA-54, from where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Malik Abrar was re-elected in the 2013 general elections. He could not be reached for comment. PML-N MPA Malik Iftikhar said funds for the two pending projects had been released and work would start soon. He could not say why the colleges had not been completed during the previous tenure.
The people have other long-standing demands like clean drinking water, basic health units and hospitals, but the colleges top their list.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.