A matter of principle: Roghani suspends two employees of govt school in Mardan

Announces Rs2.9m for Centre for Speech and Hearing

MARDAN: Special Adviser to CM on Social Welfare Meher Taj Roghani has suspended two employees of a school for children suffering from speech and hearing impairments in Sheikh Maltoon Town, Mardan.

Insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune Roghani took the decision when she paid a surprise visit to the school on Friday. The school is run by the social welfare department.

During the inspection, Riffat Hussain, a teacher at the school and Shah Jehan, a watchman, were suspended because they had not come into work for three months.

According to insiders, Shah Jehan was working at the house of a former government official but continued to draw his salary from the social welfare department.

A helping hand      

Roghani was accompanied by Fauzia Kasur. Later, both leaders visited the Centre for Speech and Hearing, a private institute for children suffering from impairments. The principal of the school told the adviser the centre was imparting education to over 200 children from various parts of the province.

The special adviser announced an aid package of Rs2.9 million for the institute and handed over a cheque worth Rs1 million to the school’s principal. “The remaining funds will be released in installments,” she said.

Overhaul

According to Roghani, there are over 0.5 million children in the province who are differently abled.

“However, only 3,700 of them are getting an education while the rest have been deprived of what is a universal right,” she said. “I have sent a proposal to the chief minister to take a series of steps to address their plight.”

Roghani said there are 33 schools in the province which cater to these needs. “Although the government can’t promise to increase the number of schools, it will definitely take a series of steps to equip them with modern facilities,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2015.