APSA presses government to protect schools in Swat

PESHAWAR: The All Private Schools Association (APSA) NWFP has warned of province-wide protest if the provincial and federal governments failed to ensure protection of educational institutions, both for girls and boys, in the restive district of Swat.

“The government should provide full compensation to those owners whose schools’ buildings were destroyed or damaged by militants in Swat besides ensuring their protection in future,” said Aqeel Razzaq, president of the private schools’ association NWFP, here on Saturday. Speaking at a news conference along with president of Swat-based private schools’ association Ziauddin Yousafzai, Aqeel Razzaq demanded of the provincial government to ensure the holding of matriculation and intermediate annual examinations as per schedule. Any delay on part of the government would result in waste of time of the students, he warned.

He said the secondary school certificate (SSC) and intermediate examinations were getting close and the government should ensure the examinations be held in time. There were around 500 private and as many government schools in Swat.

The total number of students was around 0.4 million, said Aqeel. He added that the Taliban’s threat to schools had put the future of all those students at stake. He said the threats and closure of both private and government schools were jeopardising the future of students belonging to poor and middle class as those coming from rich families had already shifted to educational institutions in other cities.

The people of Swat do not know the logic behind destruction of schools or forcing girls to stay away from educational institutions because Islam terms education compulsory for both men and women, he said. Coming hard on political leaders, Aqeel said they had raised much hue and cry on “extra-marks” allotted to a student (Farah Hameed), but ignored the over one hundred thousand girls from Swat whose future was at stake because of threats from Taliban.

Speaking on the occasion, president of the private schools’ association in Swat Ziauddin Yousafzai said the government had lost writ in Swat and threat to girls’ education and boys’ schools was a proof of that. He said they were going to open boys’ schools in the district from February 9 while girls’ schools would not be opened because of threats involved to girls and the educational institutions. According to unofficial figures, 188 schools have been destroyed in Swat so far.

They included both government and private educational institutions. Some of those were partially damaged in bomb blasts or arson attacks while others were completely destroyed.