Registering grievances: Education dept launches complaint cell

The cell has been set up in Swabi and Mardan soon to be followed by more in other districts.

PESHAWAR: Residents of Mardan and Swabi can now file complaints regarding schools in the districts directly to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Elementary and Secondary Education department.

According to a press release issued, Minister for Education Atif Khan and Minister for Information Technology Shahram Tarakai inaugurated the complaint cell on Monday.

The cell has been set up for Swabi and Mardan, and more will be set up in other districts of the province, the statement added.

The complaint cell will enable people to register any problems they might have with schools, including mismanagement, teacher attendance and shortage of facilities. “Complainants can be filed via email, fax or telephone and the matter will be addressed in the shortest time possible,” the document stated.

Quoting Khan, it added, “The current government has been putting all its efforts into improving the quality of education in K-P.”

On August 28, 2013, working groups on education proposed recommendations to improve K-P’s elementary and secondary education, which included the introduction of a GPS-based biometric system in education institutes to ensure 100% attendance as well as suggestions to revamp educational boards across the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2014.