In disrepair: A heap of rubble for a school

Children forced to study under the open sky in freezing weather.

CHITRAL:

The government primary school in Rumbur Valley of Kalash has been in ruins since it was destroyed by flash floods in July this year.

An elder of the area, Ya Sing said students of the school are now studying under the open sky in freezing weather, adding some children have also left after contracting pneumonia and other such illnesses.

Another elder of the area, Wazirzada, told The Express Tribune, “The authorities’ lack of interest in re-establishing the school reveals how much attention they pay to non-muslims.” He lashed out at the government, saying they are requesting people for assistance in increasing enrolment and minimising the dropout rate, but have no strategy to resolve the issues of children already in school.



Saifullah Kalash, a local, said many schools in the area were deprived of basic facilities, like buildings, chairs and washrooms. He added tall claims of the government regarding the rights of non-muslims carried no real weight.

Other elders of the area pointed out more problems like unavailability of drinking water and separate schools for boys and girls. They said most students of the area studied sitting on dirt floors, because the schools had no proper seating arrangements.

Elders also said since most of the schools were far from the residential areas, children had to walk 5 to 10 kilometres to attend classes. They demanded the education department to look into their issues, and make education easily accessible for the coming generations of the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2013.