School set up in remote area of Swat

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has set up a school, Naway Sahar Public School, in Aligrama Shahi Bagh village of the Swat district under its Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR.

Shahi Bagh village is a remote community with limited access to educational opportunities and infrastructure.Rahmatullah, a student of the school, said: “Access to quality education has been one of our biggest problems as there are no proper schools established here.

The nearest school was two kilometers away; hence travelling such distance every day was a great ordeal. During the times of Covid-19, this became even more difficult. However, now with the establishment of Naway Sahar Public School, acquiring education has become much easier.”

The school, which began with one teacher and 42 students, has more than 180 students today, including 119 boys and 61 girls. Residents of the area are elated over the fact that their children now have access to quality education.

“I envied my cousins who could go to school easily because they lived in the main city. As there was no school in our area, I wasn’t able to attend a regular school. However, after the establishment of Naway Sahar School, my dream of attending school and receiving good education became a reality,” said Urwa Ahad, another student.

All these interventions were made under the education component of the Program for Poverty Reduction. The PPR, financed by the Italian government through the Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), works to create sustainable conditions of social and economic development in the program areas.

The programme is being implemented in the field through 17 partner organisations.The PPR is being implemented in 38 union councils of 14 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

International Day of Education would be observed this year under the theme of “Recover and Revitalise Education for the Covid 19 Generation” to step up collaboration and international solidarity to place education and lifelong learning at the center of the recovery.

Due to the spread of Covid-19 during the past nearly two years, schools faced a permanent shutdown and millions of students in the country suffered as educational activities came to a halt.

Those in urban areas could somehow enjoy online learning, but the problems of the rural districts, especially those of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its newly merged districts, remained serious.

Hence there is an urgent need to address educational needs of students in the province. Many private and public sector organisations are making efforts to enhance access to education for the rural population.