KP govt asked to declare ‘education emergency’ in Swat

MINGORA: An All Parties Conference on Tuesday asked the government to declare ‘education emergency’ in Swat district.The conference held at a hotel was attended by leaders of all political parties, members of civil society organizations and officials of the Education Department. One of the speakers Dr Jawad Iqbal said that around 291 schools, 140 for girls and 151 for boys, were damaged while 37 were destroyed by the earthquake. He said that 23 percent of girls schools and 15 percent of schools for boys were affected in the earthquake that hit the country on October 26. He asked the government to pass a mini-budget for rehabilitation of Swat, which required Rs18 billion.

Speaking on the occasion, District Education Officer Zulfiqarul Mulk termed the APC a positive step for resolving the problems of the area. He said that leaders of all parties set aside their political differences to improve the education situation in the district. He said many schools were damaged in the earthquake and the political leaders have to play their role in reconstruction of the educational institutions. Saad Sultan, a representative of Alif Aailaan, said that his organisation ranked the members of provincial assembly regarding their efforts for education.