Ambivalent donations: Badin school shuts down, girls continue classes at madrassa

Local landlord who had donated school land took it back from NGO control

HYDERABAD:

The closure of a girls' primary school established by a non-governmental organisation in a Badin village has forced the enrolled students to continue their studies in a madrassa.

They are, however, being taught the school syllabus by female teachers, provided by the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), which was handed over to the school in January this year.

Starting from scratch

The Larr Girls Primary School Faqir Muhammad Soomro in Haji Faqir Muhammad Soomro village was one of the three schools established in 2009-2010 as part of a three-year project by Devcon - an organisation working on rural development. Devcon had funded the project with the money it received from Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.



The NGO built the school's three-room ground structure on part of the 12,000-square-foot land, which was donated by a local landlord, Anees Ahmed Junejo. The written agreement was signed on an affidavit in May 2009.

Soon after the construction was completed in 2010, the school opened its gates to the local girls. It functioned smoothly for the three years that Devcon's agreement was valid for. When the agreement neared its end in November 2013, Devcon wrote to the NCHD requesting for more teachers.

"Since the execution of these [three] schools was based on the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, which has been discontinued now, these enrolled children [272 in three schools] are now facing the education continuity issue due to unavailability of teachers," it wrote to the NCHD, asking them to supply teachers and pay their salaries.

The NCHD consented to the request in January 2014 and provided teachers. Initially, NCHD arranged two teachers for this school but, after the January 2015 MoU, the teacher strength was increased to six.

Too good to last

The same landlord, who had donated his land for the school, apparently collaborated with Devcon's Badin-based coordinator Naeem Abbassi to take over the school building along with all its fixtures.



Abbassi has been accused of writing a letter on plain paper to Junejo, asking him to take control of the premises because "unfortunately, the community was not found willing to continue [the] school". "Keeping this in mind, we are going to hand over to you for look after [sic]," the letter read. Junejo was also allowed to keep the furniture and fixtures under his 'supervision' until Devcon decided its future course of action.

Given that Devcon's agreement expired in 2013 and the school was being run by NCHD since then, the village elders argued that Devcon is no longer a relevant stakeholder. "Now the NCHD is providing teachers while the building and material were left behind by Devcon," confirmed NCHD coordinator Ashfaq Memon. This effectively means that Abbassi was not empowered to write to Junejo and 'hand over' the school to him.

Upset teachers

"The school continued [to function] till the end of May [this year]," pointed out Hayat Channa, an NCHD-appointed teacher, who heads the school. "Wadero [landlord] took over its control during the summer vacations. There were padlocks at the school gates and the wadero's men stopped us from entering."

Channa and five other teachers, who have also been appointed by the NCHD for a Rs5,000 monthly stipend, wrote to the education officials on August 11 and complained about the forceful takeover.



Ahmed Soomro, one of the village elders, told The Express Tribune that they have received unconfirmed reports that Abbassi received personal favours from Junejo to help him re-occupy the land. "Perhaps, they want to convert the school into an autak [guest house]."

Makeshift arrangements

NCHD's Ashfaq Memon pointed out how their teachers are still teaching at the madrassa even after the school was shut down. According to Channa, the enrolment peaked at 110. "More than 50 girls are turning up at the madrassa each day," shared the proud teacher, dismissing claims that enrolment was the reason why the school was shut down.

Devcon's Karachi-based executive, Nisar Ahmed Nizamani, told The Express Tribune that he was informed that the school has been closed due to low enrolment, high expenses and lack of parents' interest. He failed to comment on why his colleague wrote to Junejo and handed over the school building and furniture to the landlord. Abbassi was also unavailable for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2015.