F.P. Report
TIMERGARA: Residents of Charam Aab village in Sultan Khail union council of Lower Dir have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and high ups of elementary and secondary education department to upgrade the village ‘maktab’ school to government primary school and provide all basic facilities to the students. A group of local journalists on villagers’ invitation visited the school some days ago.
The Charam Aab village in Khall tehsil having 500 populations is situated in a remote hilly area of Sultan Khel union council. The journalists were informed that 130 boy and girl students were being taught by only one teacher for several years. The two-room dilapidated building has to accommodate six classes run by one teacher. The school has no wash room, no electricity and no drinking water facility. All the students are seated in one room or asked to go home when it rained. The condition of the school is negating the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government claims of educational emergency in the province.
The villagers said they had been contacting local lawmakers and authorities of education department for years but to no avail. They said the two room building was constructed by local residents on their own and then handed it over to the education department. They said that according to the existing policy of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this school needed four teachers but no one was taking notice of the matter. The villagers said they wanted to educate their children and demanded of the government to upgrade this maktab school to at least government primary school and post four more teachers in it as per rationalization policy of the government. They said they would start protest if the government did not take any notice.
An official of the elementary and secondary education department Lower Dir told Dawn on contact that the department had taken notice of the matter. He said the Charam Aab Maktab School was included in the list of schools to be upgraded soon by the government. About the shortage of teachers and other facilities the official said the problem would be solved on priority bases.
