Upper Kohistan girls school remains shut for 12 years

MANSEHRA: Over 2,000 girls of Sari Gial village in Upper Kohistan are out of school as the building of the lone girls’ primary school in the area is in a dilapidated condition.

“The local girls are without education since building developed cracks in the 2005 earthquake and contractor concerned misappropriated funds meant for its renovation,” Mehmood Khan, a local, told reporters on Saturday.

Same was the condition of three boys’ schools in the village but students have been receiving education in the open. However, local customs and conservative environment prevents girls from attending classes in the open.

“We have taken up this issue with the Independent Monitoring Unit of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for remedy, but to no avail, and the school building looks as residence of ghosts,” said Mehmood Khan.

Another community member from Sari Gial village, Abdul Wadood, said that teachers of the lone primary school for girls in the village were getting salaries without performing their duties.

He said though the PTI-led provincial government had declared education emergency, still much needs to be done in their area for education.

“We have also informed the Education Department regarding all this mess but neither this school is functional nor the staff performs duty,” said Wadood.

He said the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority had sanctioned funds for repair of the only girls’ school for a population of around 20,000 but the contractor concerned withdrew an initial amount of Rs600,000 but didn’t spend a single penny on the renovation.

The regional campaign organiser of civil society organisation Alif Ailaan, Hafizur Rehman, said there were four primary schools for boys but students suffered a lot after passing out from there and couldn’t move to Dassu, the district headquarters of Upper Kohistan, to get admissions in middle schools.

“There is not a single middle school either for girls or boys and as a result they cannot continue their education on completion of primary grade,” he said.

He also demanded the government to earmark funds for repair of schools, which were in a shambles following the October 8, 2005 devastating earthquake in Kohistan.