Call to revive school named after Shuja Khanzada’s grandfather

TAKHTBHAI: Named after the grandfather of martyred Punjab Home Minister Colonel (Retd) Shuja Khanzada, the Ajab Memorial High School Takhtbhai has been closed for several years.
The school was once a known seat of learning in this not-so-developed area of Takhtbhai.
It was set up by late Taj Mohammad Khanzada, the uncle of Shuja Khanzada, in the memory of his father Captain Ajab Khan in 1948. It played a great role in promotion of education and sports in Mardan district and the province.
The school was an integral part of the Frontier Sugar Mills Takhtbhai, which was founded by the Khanzada family and run by it till late 1980s until former chief minister Mir Afzal Khan took over its control. A few years after the death of Mir Afzal Khan, the mills was closed down and later the school also ceased to being a “Waqf” facility.
“I retired as headmaster of the school in 2008 and the institution was closed down the subsequent year in 2009,” said Karimullah, the last head of the institution.
Karimullah had joined the school in 1970 as a teacher and served there for 38 long years. He was made headmaster in 1999 after the death of his predecessor Safdar Khan and he served in that capacity till his retirement.
Ajab Memorial School was the first in the province that imparted education right from nursery until secondary school certificate level. Its sprawling building and vast playgrounds provided it distinction over other institutions.
The school was also famous for having hardworking staff and brilliant students. It produced many valuable figures, who have been serving on high ranks in different fields. The martyred Shuja Khanzada also received his primary education at this school.
“Shuja Khanzada got his primary education from Ajab Memorial School. He did his matriculation from a public school in Risalpur in Nowshera district and then got admission in Islamia College Peshawar to do his graduation,” said Haq Nawaz Khan, a senior journalist who hails from Takhtbhai.
The number of doctors, engineers, professors, army officers and bureaucrats who studied in this school is in hundreds.
The school had a distinctive position among educational institutions, said Karimullah, adding that it had produced a large number of doctors and engineers. “It is not easy to count all the people who studied here, but most of the doctors you see in Takhtbhai have done their matriculation from this school. There are many people in other fields who studied in this school,” said Abdullah, a senior teacher.
Abdullah, who joined the school in 1970 as a nursery student and passed his secondary school examination in 1982, was full of praise for the facilities at the school.
“I strongly believe this was one of the best schools in the whole Mardan district. We had the best teachers. The sports facilities here were matchless. Everyone in the area wanted to get admission here,” he remarked.
When Abdullah was studying at the school, Taj Mohammad Khanzada himself was there to look after the school. He speaks nice of Taj Khanzada, who according to him hired the best teachers and provided every facility to the students. Also, he said everyone was allowed to take admission in the school though it had been established for the offspring of the mills’ employees. Abdullah later taught in the school for four years from 1988 to 1992.
Dr Mufarih Shah, a prominent dentist, was one of the brilliant students at the school. It deeply hurts him to see wheat and maize crop cultivated in the vast grounds of the school.
“We had the best ground in the school. Students from across the district and elsewhere in the province came here for sports events. Major tournaments of hockey, football, basketball and cricket was organised here. Now only shrubs grow there. In some of the grounds, the employees also cultivate different crops, which is unfortunate,” he said.
Dental Surgeon Dr Mufarih Shah, who did his matriculation from the school in 1977, said the school was among the best institutions in academics. Hafiz Mohammad Tahir was the headmaster of the school then and every year one or two students of the school used to qualify for professional colleges to study medicine and engineering.
Prof Dr Farooq Swati, a former dean University of Peshawar and current member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission, is another shining star of the school who got his early education there from nursery to the 9th class.
He also had some sweet memories of the school. He said it was a good school as a whole. It had competent teachers and better environment, he added.
Dr Farooq Swati, who also served as science teacher in the school, wished to see the school revived.
“I think the government should take control of the facility. The building is still there. Classes from grade-6 to intermediate level should be started,” he said.
Everyone, who talked to this correspondent, expressed great longing for restoration of the school for promotion of education and sports in the area.
They said the government didn’t need huge funds or effort to revive the institution. They said that attention of the authorities was needed to make use of the building, which presently looks like a haunted place.