Abandoned: Girls school closed for over a month

Three hundred deprived of education after teaching staff transferred.

KABAL:

Residents of Yakh Tangey, Melagah village in Kabal tehsil have demanded that the government take action against the administration of Girls Primary School Melagah for keeping the school closed for a month.

The school has been dysfunctional since August 5, after the three teachers there were transferred to other locations. Locals say the educationists belonged to other cities and had put in transfer requests to either be relocated to their hometowns or more developed areas.

More than 300 girls remain out of school, without a chance to get an education, complained the residents.



“One by one, all three teachers were transferred from the school and then on August 5 the school was completely shut down,” Bakht Mand Khan, an elder in the area, told The Express Tribune on Saturday. “Since then, our girls are not going to school.”

Bakht said, “We informed the education department and district administration several times but no action has been taken yet.”

Enrolled but out of school

“When we went to school that morning, the door was closed because there was no teacher to open it,” said Zarmina, a grade three student. “Even before August 5, the teachers did not attend school regularly and did not teach us properly.”

Elders of the area tried to seek help from the assistant commissioner of Kabal who referred the issue to the district education department.

“We have started an enquiry and if anybody is found guilty, strict legal action will be taken against them,” said Shameem, an education officer in Swat.

She added no compromise will be made on the future of the young generation.

Yakh Tangey, Melagah is a remote area in Kabal tehsil and was a stronghold of militants in the insurgency in Swat.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2014.