Eye of the storm: Experts call for winter vacations across K-P

Separately, FSO urges govt to resume providing scholarships to students in FATA.

PESHAWAR: Following the brutal massacre at Army Public School, former education minister and education expert Muhammad Javeed has asked the education department to announce winter vacations in schools and universities across the province.

The suggestion was made to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education department on Thursday. According to Javeed, the attack has left people in a state of shock. Parents have voiced reservation over sending their children to school during these difficult and uncertain times, he added.

Meanwhile, some universities have already announced their winter vacations. University of Peshawar media director Akhtar Amin informed The Express Tribune that the university will be closed from December 22 for winter vacation.

Right to education

The FATA Students Organization (FSO) on Thursday urged the government to resume providing scholarships to underprivileged students studying in public schools across the tribal belt.

Representatives from the organisation were addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club which was attended by students from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Speaking at the conference, students said they had not received their scholarship money over the last three years. Some scholarships are offered on the basis of favouritism, they alleged. Students demanded that scholarships be increased from Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 and only provided on need basis.

FSO president Shaukat Aziz insisted the education sector in Fata is in desperate need of an overhaul.

“Students have been deprived of the basic right to education as schools have been closed due to militancy,” Aziz said. “Moreover, some parents cannot afford to send their children to school.”

According to Aziz, there are countless schools in Fata which have remained dormant for years and need to be reopened. Moreover, new schools need to be opened in the tribal areas, he added. Aziz also condemned the massacre of innocent children at Army Public School (APS). “We need to make the schools more secure so that children can get an education without facing any threats to their lives.”

He pressed the government to give priority to establishing more educational institutes in Fata to ensure underprivileged students have equal opportunities to get an education.

Security

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government directed all private schools across the province to make proper security arrangements. The government also called a meeting of all private schools owners to discuss security plans at their institutes. It added any school without proper arrangements would be closed.

It directed all private schools owners to construct taller walls, install CCTV cameras and hire private security guards.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2014.