Lost priorities: Nearly a decade later, sole school of Ser Telegram still in shambles

The building was never rebuilt after being damaged in the 2005 earthquake.



MINGORA: The sole primary school of Ser Telegram in Malam Jabba is little more than the boundary wall that confines it.

Despite constant appeals by students and their parents to rebuild the school, which was destroyed in the 2005 earthquake, negligible progress has been made. Soon after the devastating earthquake, the building was declared risky and was later demolished by the education department.

Reconstruction began three years later, but is yet to be completed. Since then, the few students that are left take classes sitting on the ground under the open sky with no furniture.



“More than 350 students were enrolled there before the deadly earthquake. After the disaster, the number of students started decreasing every day,” said Rahman Ali Khan, a social activist. He said a contractor started rebuilding the school in 2008 but abandoned it after constructing just the boundary walls.

“Due to a lack of facilities and no roof, the number of students is going down day by day,” echoed Sanaullah Khan, a teacher at the school.

According to the school’s record, 80 students are presently enrolled. Residents, however, say parents have stopped sending their children to the school as they have to brave the weather without any shelter.

Students say they want to study and become better citizens but the government is ignoring them.

“During the summer, the sun falls directly on us and the heat is so intense we are often sent home early. We don’t even have mats to sit on – we sit on the ground which gets very hot,” complained Azizullah, one of the few students still left in the school.

The miseries get exacerbated in the winter. Since the area is in a hilly region with harsh winter, sitting outside is not an easy task.

“Every other day, the school is closed because of rain or snow. We don’t have chairs to sit on. Sometimes we sit under a tree or in one of the rooms without a roof,” said Usman Ali, a student of grade five. He added since the government has not provided chairs or desks, the least it can do is provide mats so students do not have to sit on the ground.

When contacted, District Education Officer Zulfiqarul Mulk said he would soon visit the school and take up the issue of its reconstruction with senior officials of the department.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2014.

COMMENTS (3)

kulwant singh | 9 years ago | Reply

Through out India mid day meals are served to the students of Govt and Aided schools up to Middle standards and u failed to provide even buildings the children are the future of the country so instead of huge spending on other things education must be given priority.

Ali | 9 years ago | Reply

@Naeem Khan Manhattan,Ks: Your comments gives me good sense..I am **badly hurt with the situation of this school.. But PTI govt is running Tameer-e-School program to combat with such situation of the schools. It need time..we need to give them more time to address all such issues. I have seen there approach more practical by building a system first of all then taking action from there on word.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ